


Crucible

by SirArthurNudge



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Angst, Betrayal, Body Horror, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hybrids, Loss of Parent(s), Other, Parent-Child Relationship, Pregnancy, Redemption, Supernatural Elements, Time Travel, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-03-04 05:05:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 72,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2953448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirArthurNudge/pseuds/SirArthurNudge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war is over but sometimes the end is just the beginning...</p><p>Jane Shepard has ended the Reaper War but sometimes the end is just the beginning as a ship from a future appears to save her from the ruins of the Crucible (Thanks to Mei-chiri and her awesome work creating a tvtropes page for this fic!)</p><p>This story is completed on FF.net. As I begin transferring it over, I'll be editing and updating chapters. This will be a slow process so if anyone wants to read through the entire thing so far, go to FF.net. It will eventually be here completed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The End Is The Beginning

"Through the travail of the ages,  
Midst the pomp and toil of war,  
I have fought and strove and perished  
Countless times upon this star."

_Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr._

The first noise that filtered through to her hazy brain was a strange rattling hum.

It called out to her mind to recollect, to remember all that had happened.

Memories drifted back slowly, carried by other noises that infiltrated her semi-conscious state.

Her heartbeat brought such sad goodbyes to her crew and her lover; strange murmuring voices in the distance brought with them the memories of the strange AI child; a sudden burst of laughter nearby brought Garrus to her weary mind once more; before finally the distant sound of gunfire gave to her the last pieces of the puzzle that was her memory.

It also finally woke her.

Shepard had destroyed them... all of them. At least she hoped she had.

Jane grumbled a little as her brain finally emerged from its stupor.

Her eyes however refused to open despite her repeated attempts but she was too tired to register why.

Instead, Jane moved one of her hands in a slow journey of discovery of her surroundings - finding a plate here; a cup there; and lots of plastic covered items she figured from the rustling and strange textures.

* * *

The hand's journey was arrested suddenly by another and significantly larger hand grabbing hers.

Shepard nearly screamed as fear and adrenalin pumped through her body in a torrent that broke the hold exhaustion held on her mind and dragged her fully awake.

"Calm yourself," a deep flanged voice spoke to her softly through the darkness. "You're safe here. We mean you no harm. You've been heavily injured but you're getting better."

Jane tried to place the voice but found it unrecognizable.

As she tried to speak, her throat clammed up due to how dry it had become and she struggled to make any noise at all.

That's when it hit her.

Pain. Unbelievable pain in waves.

Her companion hummed at what must have been some very strange faces she was pulling before he adjusted what sounded like a machine.

She could hear the faint electronic beeps as the pain that had assaulted her drifted away almost as rapidly as it had arrived.

Once she had calmed, Shepard's companion spoke up. "Here. Let me help you. Perhaps you would be more at ease with your sight restored and after a drink of water".

Pressure that she hadn't even noticed on her head was removed and finally allowed her eyes to flutter open.

She blinked rapidly as her sight adjusted to the sudden light - even though it was quite low in the room to begin with.

Jane panted a little as she took in her surroundings.

She wasn't on the Citadel or the Normandy. Shepard wasn't even on the Crucible.

Where the hell was she?

* * *

Her eyes scanned her surroundings rapidly with her mind, although tired, assessing the information as it was trained to do.

Shepard was in a large room, substantial in size.

She didn't doubt that it could hold even the Normandy within itself and still have room to spare.

It was in quite a state of disrepair but was actively being worked on with scaffolding holding up sections as workers welded and repaired all they could.

The place had been sectioned up for different uses with shadowy figures hard at work to the far right of where she lay either training (at least what she could surmise from the fighting) and weapon maintenance.

Another section to her left housed several stockpiles of supplies and what looked like a meeting area with a large table.

A lone dark figure stood beside it and stared down at what was there while deep in thought it seemed.

Finally her eyes came to rest on the owner of the deep rumbling voice who had stayed her wandering hand and taken away the pain from her injuries.

* * *

To Jane's mild surprise, he was turian.

Or at least he looked turian.

In fact if Shepard hadn't heard his voice she would have sworn he was Garrus with his slate grey plates.

His eyes were different and it threw her a little.

She had never seen a turian whose eyes had even the slightest tinge of white around the iris itself. But his pair of deep and piercing blue did.

When her brain finally kicked in, Shepard realized why this was so. His eyes were actually slightly oval shaped with the visible sclera tinting the sides.

Shepard quickly picked up another little thing that set his face apart. His nose plates were crooked and flattened in an spot just below his brow plates.

Jane quickly surmised that he must have broken it more then once.

Her companion himself seemed quite amused by her silent appraisal of his form.

"Should I stand so you can take a better look?" he chuckled once Jane twigged he knew what she was doing and had stopped staring at his face.

He heaved himself off his crouched position on the floor beside where she lay and stood up in front of her.

The turian theatrically twirled around allowing her to fully inspect him.

He stood tall, - very very tall - being at least 7 foot if not more.

As the turian wore only under-armor, his body underneath it was easy to discern.

The cowl was not very big, at least for a turian. She couldn't decide if was a trick of the light but it even seemed like his plating was arranged differently then an average turian too - or at least Garrus's.

His waist was most definitely a lot wider. Not fat but bulkier as though he had more muscle.

Overall he seemed almost thicker in body structure then any turian she had ever met.

Shepard glanced further down.

His legs and arms seemed typically turian until she reached the feet.

Shepard gave a muttered curse as she decided she was definitely hallucinating.

He had four toes on each bare foot and, as he turned, she saw on the raised heels was another smaller clawed toe pointing down.

His hands, although gloved, seemed to have the regulation three fingers for turian anatomy.

Jane' brain sought an answer and decided that maybe he was just a abnormality. Humans tended to have enough of those too.

Seemly satisfied that she had finished her appraisal, her companion again crouched on his haunches beside her.

Jane watched with fascination as his four toes splayed out dramatically to give him greater balance.

* * *

"You know you could just ask me what you want to know."

His deep and almost lazy voice drifted into her reverie and snapped her attention back to his face.

Shepard croaked out, "Forgive me. I'm just a little... confused. I've no idea where the hell I am. Who are you?"

Her throat was still so dry that her voice was cracking as she spoke.

"Here. Let me help you drink this first."

The turian gently slipped his hand behind her head and cradled it as he tilted her effortlessly up.

He reached for a nearby cup filled with what looked happily like water and held it to her mouth.

As she gulped down the cool liquid, the turian spoke so softly that she almost missed it. "My name is Gaius. You have no idea how good it is to meet you."

Once finished, he carefully laid her back down before adjusting something just out of her line of sight.

"I know it is a lot to ask you to trust me just yet. Hell, I'm impressed you haven't freaked out," he murmured.

"You haven't given me reason to yet," Shepard answered wearily. "Also... I'm kind of incapacitated right now. Fighting my way out isn't really an option."

That earned her a chuckle that reverberated from deep within Gaius's chest.

"I suppose you are right. I guess I just thought... heh. I don't know what I thought really."

The turian raised his hand to skim lightly over his head and fringe.

"This is not how I thought I would met you a-" he started to say before suddenly stopping mid sentence.

He rubbed his right mandible and then returned to the object out of sight.

"I'm afraid I need you to sleep some more. Not too much longer. Three days tops. By the time you wake next, you should be feeling a lot better. Perhaps even enough to take a walk around."

Gaius stared at her with those deep blue eyes that Jane couldn't stop gazing into.

Sargasso eyes her mother would have called them. Eyes like the wide and wonderful Sargasso sea back on Earth.

"Earth..." she breathed out as the name dragged her back to the war and all that she remembered. "Earth! What happened? I gotta..."

Gentle but firm hands pushed her back down when she had in a panic struggled to lift herself.

"Calm down. They are fine. It's all fine. You need to sleep."

She heard again the beeping noise as a wave of tiredness overwhelmed her. Her eyelids started become too heavy to hold up. "... no... I... Earth... my friends... Garr..."

Sleep claimed her and she drifted away into darkness.

* * *

Gaius sat quietly beside her and watched the steady rhythm of her breathing.

Once certain she was fast asleep, Gaius stood carefully before he moved the blanket to cover her injured body better.

He drifted his mandibles over her face and inhaled the scent from her hair before stroking a stray red lock away from her eyes.

Gaius left her to her dreams.

His next destination was not far. It was a table covered in old star maps with handwritten notes and comments covering it as raw data was still coming in from the field on the current state of the galaxy.

"How is she?"

Gaius turned to a turian quite like himself but with darker coloring and burning yellow eyes.

"She's okay, Tiberius. I think she will need just a few more days before the nanites have her able to move around."

Tiberius nodded cheerily. "Well that's another thing going right for our side then. I was almost beginning to believe that this suicide mission was actually going to go badly for us."

Gaius let out a bark of laughter. "I think the fact that it is still certain death rules it as going badly for us, Tib."

The darker turian merely shrugged his shoulders. "But we have already won, brother! We have won and they don't know it yet."

Tiberius leaned back against a low table set behind him and smirked. "And I can't wait to see their faces when we show up and they realize it."

* * *

"I fail to see what you seem to, Tiberius."

Another voice boomed to break the easy silence that had descended.

"Sidonis," Gaius nodded at the old turian who had appeared.

Age had left its mark on him but Lantar Sidonis still retained his ability to make them feel like disobedient school boys.

"You know exactly what I meant, Lantar," Tiberius muttered.

Sidonis let out a long suffering sigh. "Nothing is ever definite. We need to all be vigilant, now more than ever. We need more than just this stroke of luck to change the galaxy."

He turned to Gaius. "The Commander?"

"Fine. Well, not exactly fine but getting there. I have followed the medic's earlier advice and put her out for another 3 days. I'm hoping the nanites will at least get her to a more stable and pain free state in that time."

Sidonis nodded. "Good. We could use her help in gaining what we require."

Sidonis turned to leave but stopped short as a thought struck him.

"I should inform you both that we located the Normandy. It got knocked to Eden Prime. Ironic that it should end up where this all really started for the Commander. Once we have our own repairs completed, we shall be assigning a squad to... ah... help, I suppose," he said over his shoulder.

Gaius snorted and folded his arms across his chest.

"I take it that you will not be volunteering then, Gaius?"

"You knew what my answer would be long before you asked that question."

"Is there is no curiosity in you to know the man before all that occurred?"

Gaius bared his teeth and splayed his mandibles wide. "I know all I need to know about him. About them all in fact. Send Tiberius! He's the talker. I'm sure he will find a way to fit right in."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence there, buddy," Tiberius chuckled.

Sidonis merely waved his hand in acknowledgement before taking his leave.

* * *

Gaius snorted.

"Can you believe that, Tib? Like I didn't have enough to be working on then to go and do some hand holding!"

Tiberius merely tilted his head and looked at Gaius with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Are you scared, Gaius?"

Gaius held his breath before he turned slowly to level a stare at Tiberius.

"What did you just say? I'm hoping that is just a joke from you."

"No, I'm being serious."

"And what, pray you, am I supposed to be afraid of?"

Tiberius lifted away from the low table and, as he wandered off in the direction of the sparring ring, answered, "Maybe that it is not all as you have believed it to be for so long?"

Gaius answered with a snarl. "Not bloody likely. Not when he even confirmed the truth of it to my face."

He turned and looked towards the sleeping human.

"Of the two of us, Tib, I am the one with the least to fear."


	2. And All I Ask Is A Tall Ship And A Star To Steer Her By

 "In the form of many people  
In all panoplies of time  
Have I seen the luring vision  
Of the Victory Maid, sublime."

_Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr._

Foggy but now happily pain free, Jane Shepard awoke from her slumber.

Her body felt so much better than what it was like the last time that she even delighted in stretching her lazy muscles before finally sitting up.

She glanced for the first time at her body in the aftermath of what had happened.

"Bandages, bandages everywhere." Jane muttered as she looked down at herself, letting out a stray curse as her mouth felt so dry and stale.

A memory slowly pushed itself to the front of her mind - one of cool refreshing water and a turian she didn't know.

After a few minutes, it finally clicked in to place.

She didn't know where she was!

* * *

She rose up a bit too quickly and almost immediately grasped her right side as it protested the sudden movement.

"Hello again."

A now vaguely familiar voice lazily found its way to her ears. She glanced up to see Gaius standing above her.

He had become slightly more intimidating as he was now clad in ebony black armor. Not a variety she had never seen before but it certainly looked the part.

It was sleek and perfectly contoured - almost clinging to Gaius's bulky form.

The armor plating was of a level of craftsmanship that she had not come across before. The entire thing almost seemed to be made of just one segment of metal.

Jane stared hard to try and see if she could spot even just one join in the chest piece.

"So far all our attempts to talk have turned into staring contests," the turian rumbled.

Shepard sheepishly glanced back up at his face. He smiled down at her with eyes bright with good humour.

"I think we might be in some trouble if we can't get to the talking part," he added carefully.

Shepard laughed. She had not been in the right state the last time to notice that he had quite a cheerful disposition.

"Not that the view is bad," she teased back with a smile.

Gaius's jaw dropped and he flushed cyan between his plates with his mandibles fluttering due in no small part to his surprise.

"Ahem... wow. Not what I was expecting but..." he smirked, "...I think it's okay. Better than you thinking that I was ugly or something."

He crouched down beside her. His face became quite serious as he got closer to her.

"You have been out cold for nine days."

Shepard's eyebrows raised up. "That's a long time to be sleeping."

"I'm sorry. I had thought it would only need three at most but there were some complications that took a bit longer to fix."

Shepard frowned. "That's still one hell of a difference from the time scale you said to me when I last woke up. Any chance you are going to fill me in now on what's going on?"

Gaius started by putting up his hand apologetically. "I can tell you most things but some... some stuff is going to have to wait. I'm going to need you to trust me about certain issues."

The scowl on Shepard's face told him a lot including giving warning of the pithy response that was on the tip of her tongue.

He jumped in before she could give it voice.

"Look, I know. Spirits, if it was the other way around I would probably be blasting an escape route as we speak. Actually... scrap the probably. I would definitely have blasted my way out of here by now."

Shepard couldn't help the small smile that curled her lips. That easing of the tension relaxed Gaius a little.

"If I was to trust you then what is it exactly that you need of me?" Jane asked carefully.

Gaius let out a sigh. "How about we get you up, get some decent food in you and then we can talk about all that you need to know."

He extended to her his hand.

Shepard gazed up at him, searching his face for any indication that he might not be completely honest with her.

He didn't twitch or flinch at her gaze. Instead he seemed sad - a faint melancholy just behind his smile.

She hesitated before finally Jane reached out and grasped his offered hand.

* * *

Walking was difficult but thankfully not as difficult as she first feared.

It was still painful enough for her to know that running was not going to be an option for the foreseeable future.

Gaius had helpfully found some clean clothes and set up a small screen so she could have some privacy.

Jane would have preferred a nice long shower but Gaius had informed her that water conservation was paramount until they got main recycling systems back online.

That led to her first big discovery. She was on a ship and a badly damaged one at that. From what she gleaned from Gaius, it had weathered a lot of damage on its journey.

From where he refused to say, much to her chagrin.

For the moment, most of the crew was holed up in the two docking bays while repairs ran around the clock.

That also clarified to her exactly where she was on the ship and why the room she had found herself in was so big.

Gaius was quite content filling her in on how the majority of the repair-work was going.

"We have finally patched up the two biggest of the hull breaches and later today we hope to reinitialize the Grav Point engine."

"Wait. Sorry you have lost me now. Grav Point engine?"

"Ahhhh that's another thing that..."

"...you can't tell me but will at some undefined point in time. Yeah I get it."

Gaius gave an apologetic half smile. "Sorry. It's frustrating I know. Look, how about you ask me what is foremost on your mind right now?"

Shepard pulled her now longer red hair back into a small ponytail and tied it with some string she had found. "Instead, lets make it to those tables over there, you find me some tea that won't kill me and we will get those questions out of the way," she replied.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be right back."

* * *

Shepard seated herself carefully in what looked like an old office chair with a desk acting as a canteen table.

Gaius turned up soon afterwards, carrying two cups of steaming tea carefully.

Shepard took a deep sniff of the cup offered to her. "Oh! It's green tea! Hmmm! How do you guys have this?"

Gaius placed his own cup down on the desk. "We tend to be experts on all teas in these parts. Useful since alcohol is banned on our ships."

"Turian vessels don't have regs against alcohol consumption. Well... except the obvious problems of course."

"This ship does."

Gaius looked at her with the cheesiest grin she had ever seen on a turian which caused her to laugh and groan with pain at the same time.

"Okay, stop making that face! I'm not busting a gut literally over you."

Gaius gave her a more genuine smile. "It's nice to see you in good spirits."

Shepard coughed a little to recompose herself. "I think its time for those questions."

"Fire away."

"What happened to the Reapers? To my crew?"

Gaius rubbed the back of his neck. "The Reapers are gone. Empty shells now thanks to you."

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief. It was like a huge weight she hadn't know was there had been lifted from her shoulders.

"And my crew?" she asked with slight smile.

"They're stranded on Eden Prime."

"What do you mean stranded?"

Gaius shrugged. "The Normandy made a break for it once the Crucible started to fire. They hit the relay just before the shock wave hit."

Shepard's memories of those last moments became jumbled. "I don't understand. What shock wave? Why would the Crucible firing have effected the relay?"

"Okay. Important fact number one; the relays are dead."

Shepard looked at him with confusion. "I don't think I heard you correctly there. The relays can't be dead."

"They are dead right now but they can be repaired. At this moment in time, no one is getting around fast in this galaxy. Well, except maybe us but that is another story all together."

* * *

Shepard sat in silence.

Memories hit her with almost the same effect as being physically struck. What that AI had said on the Citadel filled her mind.

She groaned a little. She had saved so many but potentially condemned more.

Shepard leaned forward, placed an elbow on the table and covered her eyes with her hand.

"My crew... How are my crew?"

Gaius sat back in his chair - looking back concerned when it squeaked as it took his weight.

"They're fine from our reports. All alive and accounted for. The Normandy took quite a hit when it landed so the repairs needed are quite extensive. Once we have our own mostly completed, it's the intention of our good captain to lend a hand."

"How are you going to do that with the relays down?"

"I suppose you wouldn't let me get away with saying it's a trade secret?"

Shepard smirked and shook her head.

Gaius sighed.

"I'm not technically supposed to say this but the Grav Point engine is an incredible piece of engineering and it would take me at least a week to get you to fully understand how it works so I'm going to simplify this with one sentence. It takes us places very fast."

Shepard bit back the grin that threatened to explode out on her face. "You think you're very funny but you're not, you know."

Gaius burst out laughing. "Oh I'm funny! Hilarious even! Admit it! You had a hint of a smile there."

Shepard stifled a laugh. "Only because I'm still heavily medicated for pain."

Gaius's laughter turned into a wry smile. "Alright. I'll give you that one."

His mood suddenly turned quite serious. "Ahem... I don't want you to think that I don't respect you, Commander. I just... this is the first time in a long long time that I've been able to relax, even if it's only for a moment. Please don't take my teasing as..."

"Gaius, stop. It's alright. I've just been through a war that I honestly thought I would not survive. Now here I am alive, my crew is alive... Garrus is alive."

Shepard spoke that last part of the sentence softly and stared at her hands that were fiddling with the cup in front of her.

She didn't notice Gaius flinching at the name.

"I'm sure you will get to see him soon." he replied stiffly.

Shepard wrapped her hands around her cup, took a sip of the still quite hot tea before settling back into her chair.

"How did you guys find me? What do you need me for? Not that I'm not grateful for your help but I imagine it wasn't done out of the kindness of your hearts."

"Astute as always. We found you because we searched for you. We arrived late to the party. The Crucible had fired; the fleet around Earth was temporarily incapacitated; the Citadel was falling apart before us; and our own ship was not in the best of shape. We heard from the comm traffic that you were aboard the Citadel. A small group of us went E-V-A, went straight into the wreckage and, luckily, we found you on the first hit. It took us quite a bit of time to be able to free you from the rubble and keep your vitals stable. We got you into one of our few operational shuttles and then back here. You were pretty much unconscious for the first week. After that, you woke and you know the rest."

"So I have been out of it for over 2 weeks?!" Shepard rubbed her temples. "I suppose I should be grateful. The last time something like that vaguely happened, I woke up after 2 years."

* * *

Gaius smiled before continuing. "So now we get to what we need you for."

"Yes, we have."

Gaius leaned forward, putting his long muscular arms out across the table to her with his gloved hands tapping on the polished surface.

"This is not as straight forward as you might think. We're hoping that you might use your influence with the asari to get us passage into Thessian space. That's only the first part. The rest depends on what we find there."

Shepard looked at him over the rim of her cup. "Seriously?"

"Completely serious. We could go in there and just barge through but that's not how we want to play this. There is somewhere in particular we need to go. It's better for everyone in the long run if we are unhindered in that task."

"I think your Primarch would be able to help you out with that far more than I could. In fact there is probably a thousand different pieces of legislation passed by the Hierarchy, the Matriarchs and the Council that could let you guys in."

Gaius coughed. "What if I was to tell you that we're not strictly on the Hierarchy's payroll right now."

Shepard became stock still.

She carefully placed her cup on the table. "Then I would say that you really need to explain yourself because I'm sure as hell not helping you until you clarify that statement."

"We're not mercs or traitors or any of that crap. Look, we just had disagreements with the Hierarchy in the past. We haven't kissed and made up yet. There is something out there that we really need to fix. It's incredibly important and, trust me, in a few months everyone is going to see how important it is."

Shepard glared at him.

Gaius ran a shaky hand over his fringe.

"Remember how I said that you're going to have to trust me on some things? Now is one of those times. If I betray you or let you down then so be it - put a bullet in my head even. Right now... right now we need your help. The asari are not known for being hospitable to unidentified ships in their space. We're going there with your help or not. We would prefer the peaceful way but if we have to fight a path through then we will."

Shepard pulled back from the table with her chair squeaking noisily as she did so.

Gaius stood up.

"We're here to save people. We're here to save more than you could ever comprehend. All I'm asking for is a chance. For you, the great Commander Shepard, to give us that chance. Is it too much to ask for?"

Shepard looked into his eyes that seemed to glow from within - almost burning with intensity.

He was passionate about this and she respected that.

But to trust him was one big step that she would find hard to make...


	3. The Path Less Travelled

 

"I have battled for fresh mammoth,  
I have warred for pastures new,  
I have listed to the whispers  
When the race trek instinct grew."

_Through the Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

Garrus positively beamed and couldn't keep the joy off his face.

Shepard was alive.

They had finally managed to make some initial contact with the Alliance and Hierarchy - which was a miracle in itself considering how much damage had been done to the ship.

What they told them made him nearly lose his normal composure with pure happiness until he felt the eyes of most of the crew on him.

They all knew of his relationship with Shepard. Not something either of them hid but they did try to be discrete.

 _"Ok, tone it down Vakarian. Make it to the cabin before you start being a lovesick idiot,"_ he internally reprimanded himself as he left the crew's stares behind and made his way to the elevator in what he thought was a calm and collected manner.

* * *

The repairs were nearly completed on the ship to everyone's relief.

The Normandy needed, at most, another day of solid work at repairs before she was ready to launch. All that was really holding them up was the engine which was being as uncooperative as it possibly could be.

Not that Garrus cared as he ran-walked to the lift. He felt as giddy as a child.

They had survived.

All of them had survived this damn war.

He nodded at Liara and Tali as he passed them by, pretending not to hear their calls to come and chat as he aimed for the open door of the elevator. He dived inside and quickly shut the door before his friends found some urgent reason or another to call him back.

By the time he had reached the cabin, Garrus was practically bouncing on his feet.

He sat down at Shepard's terminal and brought up the message they had received from Admiral Hackett.

The vid was shaky but he definitely could see the old human admiral.

He adjusted the audio as best he could but it was still full of static that cut off part of the message completely.

"To the crew... SS... mandy. We have recieve... rmation that you are in... strande... den Prime. Comman... Shepard on route to assist. Be advis... ship unrecog... sists... mean no har... vise caution in deali... arch Vic... sends regards. Once space worthy return to Ea... rk to be done. We thank... miral Hack... out."

Jane was coming to get them.

"Thank the spirits," Garrus breathed out aloud to himself.

The rest of the message he would make sense of once she got here but at least... at least his nightmares weren't reality and Shepard really was out there waiting for him.

Garrus smiled. He was definitely going to get the first decent nights sleep in what seemed a very long time.

The next day was already shaping up to be a blur of activity.

Lots of rewiring to be done, the last pieces of hull plating to be reinforced and, of course, the damn engine.

Tali had worked almost night and day for the past couple of weeks on the blasted thing.

If it was him, he probably would have attacked it at this stage with a wrench but the young quarian was stubborn in a different way to Garrus.

She wouldn't stop until it worked then attack it - possibly with her shotgun.

* * *

Shepard almost couldn't contain her excitement.

Although she remained as cool and collected on the outside as anyone could manage, Jane still buzzed with an energy that was almost palpable.

The real spark for this change came once the Grav Point engine had finally roared into life.

Shepard's days on-board the vessel leading up to this moment had been fairly routine and even mundane at points.

Tiberius and Gaius usually spent their mornings locked away with the illusive captain of the ship.

Shepard had yet to meet him but, from the way Gaius spoke with such respect and admiration of him - and in such glowing terms too, Jane couldn't help but feel that they would get along quite well.

He had the loyalty of his crew for certain but for some reason the very same people all seemed intent on not revealing much of his identity to Shepard herself.

They all spoke eloquently of his personality and what he had done for them but never actually spoke his name.

He was referred to by all the crew as either "the captain" or "father".

Gaius had explained to her that, while there was history behind that title that he was not at liberty to explain fully, what she really only needed to know is that each member of the crew who called him "father" was conferring on their captain the respect and devotion that they would accord their own fathers.

It was a trust from them to him and vice versa.

Three long weeks had passed since she had agreed to help this motley crew and what a bunch they were too.

She could easily see how they ended up straying from the Hierarchy and its more stringent rules and regulations.

They were all unbelievably good at their jobs, from engineering to the practice fights she sometimes went down to watch in the reopened gyms.

In fact many of them were incredibly gifted to the point that she seriously wondered why the Hierarchy had even let them leave their system.

They were also the biggest bunch of pranksters that she ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Not a day passed by without some sort of group prank going on.

It was the engineers versus the bridge staff versus medical crews versus everybody else. Although so far no one had yet to even touch the record of the engineers.

They even kept a tally board on the wall of docking bay 2 which they added to each night.

* * *

Shepard was still recovering from her injuries and was under no illusions that it was going to be anything other than a slow process.

The medical staff assessed her recovery every day which she personally thought was a bit overkill but they insisted.

She would complain and grumble but was always cheerfully ignored.

By the start of the second week, she had gone beyond boredom and desperately sought out something to do before she murdered someone.

Gaius, who had listened patiently to all her protests and complaints, got her a job helping Tiberius with data assimilation in part of the newly repaired starboard section of the ship.

It didn't fill her with too much confidence when, on her first day there, Tiberius handed her a EVA suit and helmet.

"Just in case a patch job goes bad," he had said far too happily for Shepard's liking as he handed over the set.

"The stuff of my nightmares come true," she retorted with a little shiver running up her spine.

With several dozen agents in the field reporting on planetary conditions in the major centers of council space coupled with information retrieved from various espionage techniques including spy satellites and information mining worms in several important mainframes, it turned out to be a lot of data to process and collate.

It was definitely something to do and Shepard appreciated being kept busy.

She complied the information into various sections based on certain keywords while Tiberius divided it into areas of importance.

He was looking for something in particular - more specifically a group of things together.

"Certain indivisible parameters" he had replied vaguely mysteriously after she had inquired.

She discovered very soon after starting to work with him that Tiberius was a charmer.

He flirted like it was second nature to him.

Shepard could easily see him sweeping young turian ladies off their feet.

From what she had heard on the grapevine, that statement wasn't so far off for him.

She sometimes would look at him across the table deep in thought and be reminded of someone else but could never place the name or face.

* * *

She felt especially close to Gaius.

It was hard not to like him.

He had a very similar sense of humor to her own and was incredibly smart even if he downplayed it constantly.

There was always this faint air of sadness around him that she could never figure out. Sometimes she would catch him staring blankly out a window into the void.

He would laugh it off as stress and not enough sleep but Shepard wasn't so sure.

Tiberius and Gaius, she had quickly learned, had been best friends since childhood.

They called each other brother rather then friend.

"Best friend is just a bit less than what Gaius is to me. He's family," Tiberius had explained to her one day. "We have gone through some of the worst and best moments of our lives together. He's probably the only person that actually knows me inside and out."

Shepard empathized strongly with that feeling. She couldn't help but think of dear friends stuck on a planet far away.

What Shepard really wanted in those first few days was just to be able to get a message out to her crew.

After some healthy perseverance in pestering Gaius, the turian eventually arranged for her to send a message to Hackett who would undoubtedly have a near perfect comm system back up and running. He could relay the good news to the Normandy if they got in touch.

That's when they revealed to her just how far from Earth they actually were.

Following her retrieval, they had initiated an emergency jump. There was so much floating debris that staying was not an option. That emergency jump then promptly finished off their engine.

They now floated almost dead but not quite in some part of the Horse Head Nebula.

Shepard managed to put together a short message that relayed the more important points including their next destination.

* * *

The Normandy's engines gave a sputter then finally hummed into life.

Tali desperately checked all relevant diagnostic programs. Nothing going into the red. Had she finally done it? After a brief flicker or two in the mass effect field, the engine finally became stable.

Tali let out a sigh of relief just as the intercom hissed and Joker's voice boomed out.

"Great job, Tali. I'm reading good numbers up here."

"Heh. Thanks Joker. "

"Do you think it's good enough to try to get off this rock?"

Tali scanned over the power outputs.

"Should be enough to get us into orbit. We might have to ease off once in a stable position above the planet."

"Understood. I'll relay the info to Garrus."

Tali sat back and took a moment to enjoy her work.

The engine was practically purring to her relief.

Tali yawned.

She really needed to catch up on sleep.

A stray diagnostic program alarm brought her back to reality with a bump.

Sleep was going to have to wait it seemed.

* * *

"So we're finally going?"

Shepard stood in at the newly reopened bridge.

Repair crews still worked around the clock to get the last pieces fixed but the ship was now flyable again.

Tiberius and Gaius both stood over the main galaxy map that flickered and hissed.

"Once the captain gives the order then we are out of here," Tiberius said with a smile.

Gaius said nothing but seemed deep in thought with his eyes fixed on the map.

Shepard reached out and touched her friend's arm.

Gaius looked up at her in surprise. "Hmm? Sorry. Did I miss something?"

"No. Look, I might have a little bit of a strange request for you. I would really like to introduce you to someone in particular once we get to my crew. I think you get along really well with him. I know Garrus would find you hilarious."

* * *

Shepard beamed at him.

She had thought about this for awhile. For her crew and this one to work together, they needed an example.

She wasn't going to work with this bunch, as fun as they were, without the people she trusted.

The more she thought about it the more obvious it became.

Along side the physical similarity they shared, Gaius and Garrus had very similar personalities. It was part of the reason that she got on so well with him.

They both held positions of respect among their respective crews too.

If they could work together well then it would be a perfect example to the rest.

Gaius stared at her in confusion while Tiberius was intently biting down on his left mandible to the side of them.

Shepard looked straight at Tiberius who was desperately trying to not laugh and frowned.

"Have I said something wrong?"

"No, Shepard. You haven't." Gaius spoke in even controlled tones. "I would be honored."

Shepard patted his shoulder awkwardly.

"I'm sorry if this is awkward. I didn't think the request would make you uncomfortable."

Gaius turned back to view the galaxy map.

"It's fine. Just not quite what I was expecting."

"Sure. Think on it at least?"

Gaius smiled warmly at her. "I will."

"Great! I've an appointment with the medics now but maybe we could met up after?"

He nodded his agreement. "Send me a message when you're done."

Shepard gave a small smile before she took her leave.

* * *

Gaius turned to Tiberius with a scowl on his face.

It finally could not be contained and Tiberius burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Tib."

"No no no! This is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

"I swear to every damn spirit is this hellhole of a galaxy that if you don't stop they're not going to find your body."

Tiberius continued roaring with laughter before Gaius punched him quite hard in the shoulder.

"Ouch! I think my arm is dead."

Gaius smirked. "Completely deserved."

Tiberius saddled over close before draping the same arm over Gaius's neck.

"It's nice that the Commander thinks so much of you that she even wants to introduce you personally to her partner. She obviously considers you trustworthy, maybe even a friend."

"Hmm."

"That's a good thing."

"Is it?"

Tiberius removed his arm and playfully slapped Gaius across the back of the head.

"Remember to play nice."

"Easy for you to say."

Tiberius became quite thoughtful.

"I suppose it is. Just... take it easy. No losing that temper. Think of it as a learning experience."

Gaius rubbed his face then leaned forward over the galaxy map.

"Let's go to another topic. Have you found anything yet?"

Tiberius brought up a close image of the Thessian system.

"I have found an abnormality on the first planet, Kurinth. Right next to Parnitha. It's hidden well by the gravity well of the star but it's there if you know what you are looking for."

Gaius hummed. "Does it fit the parameters?"

"Partially. It appears to be in a state of flux which is part of the reason that I would imagine the asari haven't found it. I'm hoping that means the eezo crystals are still intact."

Gaius turned in surprise to Tiberius.

"Really? That would be incredible! Communication might actually be possible if that were the case."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to get there first. I just hope they haven't found it before us."

They both turned back to the map and brought up a close up shot of Parnitha.

The star's surface was constantly in motion, the surface flowing and glimmering even in this dimmed version of its true self.

Gaius spoke softly, "Let's hope, Tib. Let's hope."


	4. Reunion

"I have known the call to battle  
In each changeless changing shape  
From the high souled voice of conscience  
To the beastly lust for rape."  
 _Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

Shepard sat in the canteen with a hot cup of tea steaming pleasantly on the table in front of her.

Her hands were still heavily bandaged - the unfortunate skin constantly pulled by any movement and then splitting which resulted in more damage.

The medics on the ship were good she had to admit that. There was only some tiny scarring left on her body after what she had been reliably informed was some pretty heavy damage.

Most of her cybernetics had shut-down except the nanites.

In fact those ingenious little machines were pretty much running the show right now, giving her body the much needed chance to rest up.

The last parts really to be fixed were her hands and they were just being fussy.

* * *

It had been two days since engine functionality had been restored but there was no movement on the actual jump to Eden Prime yet.

Shepard was getting pretty frustrated at this stage.

She hadn't seen Gaius since she had last had tea with him after her medical exam following their talk on the bridge although Tiberius reliably informed her that it was just because he was busy.

Apparently Gaius was got caught up getting some of squads ready for the stop after Eden.

She scanned over a datapad Tiberius had given her.

It contained the environmental details of the planet Kurnith which was their next destination.

With an atmosphere of mostly methane and hydrogen, its nearly 70 atmospheric pressures and over 750ºC surface temperatures made it one hell of a difficult place for a exploration mission.

It had been mostly overlooked for resource mining during its time but did have several asari science stations before those were lost during the war with the Reapers.

Shepard glanced up as she heard a very deliberate cough next to her.

A sheepish looking Tiberius grinned. "Is this seat taken?"

Shepard smiled, shook her head and indicated for him to take the seat.

"It's been a very busy couple of days" he mused as he sat down.

"Yeah, definitely. This data pad has been quite interesting. Kurnith is a pretty unfriendly place to explore."

"Gaius will be leading the mission while I get to chill out and merely advise from the descent craft."

"So no room for a bored war veteran?"

Tiberius smiled. "Sorry Commander. You're being benched for the foreseeable future. Anyway by the time we get there, you'll be busy keeping your own crew together."

Shepard quirked a brow at him. "How do you know I'm going to take the Normandy with us?"

"It's a pretty safe assumption with you, Commander. Plus we have plenty of room in the docking bays to put her up while we jump."

Tiberius took a long sip of his tea. He tilted his head and gave her his most flirty smile. "Anyway I would expect no less from you. The good captain has also made that assumption. We're prepared to have some extra visitors."

Shepard smiled. "I would like to think that I am not that predictable."

She sipped her own tea. "I'd _like_ to think it. Doesn't mean it's true apparently."

Tiberius chuckled.

Jane put the cup back down on the table with a solid click. "How is Gaius? I'm kinda missing his usual sunny disposition."

Tiberius fiddled with his cup. "Gaius is, ah, indisposed, like I had previously said. He's running the expedition crew pretty hard right now."

He reached out and tapped the data pad with a gloved finger. "This is not a place where a fuck up will be punished leniently."

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by Tiberius's omnitool going off.

"Good news, Commander," the turian said as he scanned the message. "We're going to be jumping today."

"Really?"

"Looks like it. Fancy coming up to the bridge? You'll get to met our AI."

"AI?!"

"... shit."

* * *

Garrus stood behind Joker in the cockpit.

The engine trials from the past couple of days had been good. Not exactly what you would want if you had the resources at hand but damn it if Tali hadn't done a fantastic job on this considering what she had to work with.

The Normandy was as ready as she was ever going to be.

Any launch had its inherit dangers, especially planet to orbit because of the vast energies required to break free of the gravity of a world.

Joker seemed confident.

It was good to see him becoming a bit more like himself. In the days following the crash, Joker had intensely mourned the loss of EDI. They all had. She had been a friend. Tali had tried her best to figure out what had happened but to no avail.

Garrus eventually had sat down with Joker and talked.

He felt he had to remind Jeff that EDI wanted them all to live and if she had been given the choice, he had no doubt she would have chosen to die to save the others.

They had placed her body in the med bay with the hope of being able to give her a proper burial once they got back.

Joker seemed to have taken the talk to heart and began to get more involved in repairs.

He had even taken on the responsibility of figuring out the best exit strategy once they finally got airborne.

They were so close now to getting off this rock.

With luck, they would be in orbit when Shepard finally reached them.

* * *

Tiberius and Shepard reached the bridge to find it full of activity.

She had never seen so much work going on in this place as repair crews argued with bridge staff over minor repair work and misplaced datapads.

Tiberius easily cleared a path for them up to the pilots deck.

As they entered, Max and Tyrus - the two main pilots - stood up and saluted.

"At ease, guys. So when did you get the ok for launch?" asked Tiberius carefully.

Max answered before Tib had even finished his question. "The captain called in the bridge crew about an hour ago. He gave us the okay to launch in three hours. I think he had tried to contact you and Gaius but to no success, sir."

"Alright. Have you been processing the coordinates?"

"I believe that is my job, Tiberius," said a slightly unnerving and even toned voice from the side.

A light shimmered shortly afterwards as a holo device activated and an image of a turian emerged.

Tiberius smiled. "Hey Tristan."

The AI's image returned the gesture and nodded. "It's good to see you too, Tiberius."

Tristan's holo image turned its attention to Shepard. "It is an honor to meet you, Commander."

Jane scratched her head a little. "Forgive me but I had believed that all AIs were destroyed when I fired the Crucible."

"Not entirely correct, Commander. Everything using Reaper technology or code were rendered inactive. I am quite proud to report that such things were not required in my creation," the AI replied succinctly.

Shepard looked at Tiberius.

"Doesn't this break an awful lot of laws?"

* * *

Tiberius opened his mouth to answer when Gaius walked in.

He was sporting some fresh scrapes to his right mandible but didn't seem too worse for wear.

Shepard couldn't help being relieved to see her friend.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" he said cheerily.

Shepard stifled a giggle. Gaius looked at her with slight confusion. She shook her head with a big grin on her face.

"Sorry." she said softly. It was really great to see him.

Tiberius spoke, "So what I was about to say was that Tristan here is a natural synthetic evolution. He started as a sort of "baby" programme. We essentially raised him to 'adulthood.' Sure, it breaks some laws but he's not so bad. He's a friend."

Tristan interrupted. "I also have some slightly more important functions to perform than just being the friendly neighbourhood AI. I compute the jump coordinates and oversee almost all functions belonging to the ship."

Tiberius snorted. "Except the actual important ones of life support, weapons control and actually being to fire the engine."

He turned to Shepard. "Even friends have to keep on eye on each other."

* * *

They wrapped up their talk with Tristan and the others quite soon after as the AI had several million calculations to get ready before they could even consider jumping.

As they left, Gaius sauntered ahead of Tiberius and Shepard clearly heading for the elevator.

Tiberius nudged Shepard and informed her that he was going to remain on the bridge. "Last minute details" he mused.

Shepard said her goodbyes then hopped as fast as she could after Gaius.

Jane reached the elevator just in time to stop the the door closing.

She stood beside Gaius and, once the door closed, she threw her arms around him.

Gaius was more then a little taken aback but carefully put his own arms around her and reciprocated the hug.

Shepard pulled back and punched him in the arm. She watched with satisfaction as he rubbed the now sore spot.

"What was that for?"

"That was for being impossible to find to talk to for the last two days and the hug is a standard human procedure between friends."

Gaius rolled his shoulder. "Remind me to not stay out of your radar that long ever again then."

Shepard laughed. "How have you been?"

Gaius yawned, his mandibles flaring out wide. "Sorry... That also answers your question by the way. I've just been so tired with all the mission prep."

"You should probably grab some shut eye before we hit Eden Prime."

Gaius rubbed his right mandible. "That's only going to take all of 10 minutes."

Shepard gaped. "That short a time to reach Eden Prime and without the use of a relay?"

Gaius smirked as the elevator stopped and the door opened.

"Looks like my floor. Bye, Shepard."

"Hey! Wait!"

Gaius instead waved sleepily as he wandered away with a grin plastered to his face.

* * *

The Normandy was ready.

All crew were at their stations waiting for the command.

Tali and her fellow engineers were hard at work getting every last drop of power safely out of the engines while the rest of the crew just held on.

Garrus gave the nod to Joker who, with a shaky hand, started the launch sequence.

A deep vibration ran through the ship as she strained to lift herself off the ground. Garrus looked at a temporary weld that ran very close to the cockpit with concern.

"Don't do that, man. Or if you are then go and stare at the dangerously shoddy repair work in the metal elsewhere," Joker shouted over the noise.

With a sudden jolt and a shudder that Garrus could have sworn was going to tear the ship apart, suddenly the Normandy was free.

Free and flying.

Joker whooped in joy and set about getting his girl back to where she belonged.

Once free of the ground, the Normandy soared up almost effortlessly through the atmosphere.

Once in the correct exit angle, Joker put the throttle to the highest he could without shorting the engine.

Garrus watched as the pale blue sky and clouds parted to reveal the stars in all their glory.

One last push from the engine and they were free. The Normandy was free.

Garrus patted Joker on the shoulder as the pilot got the ship into a nice stable orbit around Eden Prime.

"Well, we didn't die. I am pleasantly surprised," Joker muttered.

Garrus had just started to head down to engineering to congratulate the crew when Joker shouted at him. "Garrus, I think you need to take a look at this."

Garrus rushed back to where Joker was pointing out the window.

His jaw dropped.

* * *

"All crew, please prepare for mass jump. Jump to commence in 10 minutes," Tristan's voice boomed over the ship's comm.

Shepard was dragged by the medics from the canteen where she had been having a late lunch with them into one of the smaller medical rooms to the side of the canteen.

They strapped her in to one of the seats secured to the wall before they themselves got in.

She saw Gaius wandering in the canteen outside and waved to get his attention.

He rubbed his eyes sleepily and waved back. She could just see him settling into a similar seat to the one she was in but on the canteen wall.

Tiberius shortly afterwards joined him. The two began chatting and laughing.

"Mass jump in 10 seconds."

Shepard tried to quell the nerves in her stomach as Tristan's voice boomed again throughout the ship.

"Jumping in 5, 4, 3,..."

Shepard felt the entire ship quake alongside the noise of the engine which became almost deafening.

"...2, 1, Jumping."

It felt like her entire body just stalled.

Time slowed.

She could see Tiberius making some sort of hand gesture as he spoke to Gaius but it seemed unreal. She could watch the path of his hand as it moved, leaving behind ghosts of itself in the air.

Then suddenly she felt her stomach hit her feet as she was jolted back.

She looked around as the medics took off their belts and started walking around.

"That wasn't it, was it?"

Mikis, the friendliest of the doctors, noticed the shock on her face.

"That was it, Commander. Nice and simple."

Shepard clambered out of her seat and headed to the bridge.

* * *

"What the hell is that, Garrus?"

The ship in front of them was huge.

It was definitely of a style that Garrus, or even Joker, had not seen.

Certain turian design elements were clearly visible in her. She was built, aesthetically, very much in the image of other turian warships - sleek and slim with speed and maneuverability a consideration.

The ship also had the strangest engine they had ever seen.

She possessed what looked like four rings of some unknown tech that glowed bright blue at the rear end.

Each ring spun in an opposite direction to the one before as they rotated around what looked like a central ignition core.

The rest of the ship looked a bit battered.

Scorch marks adorned the side and they could clearly make out hull panels that had been replaced or fixed.

"Joker, open the comms."

"Yeah. We probably should talk to the monstrous unknown ship in front of us."

* * *

By the time Shepard reached the bridge, Tyrus greeted her at the elevator door and brought her to the comm station.

"I believe your crew are ready to hear from you, Commander." he informed her with a smile.

Shepard took a deep breath.

This was it.

"SSV Normandy, do you read? This is Commander Jane Shepard..."


	5. Hidden Hearts

"I have sinned and I have suffered,  
Played the hero and the knave;  
Fought for belly, shame, or country,  
And for each have found a grave."  
 _Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

As Cortez docked the shuttle, the immense scale of the ship became apparent to all aboard.

The vessel was not as big as a dreadnought but easily 4 or 5 times the size of the Normandy. The docking bay they found themselves in alone could in all likelihood host the Normandy herself if it was necessary.

Garrus was anxious.

He needed to see Shepard. He needed to touch her to make sure she was real and then give her an earful for sending him away before the beam with only her last words as cold comfort to him for what had seemed like eternity.

As the shuttle's doors opened, the landing party was greeted by a grinning and relatively healthy looking Shepard.

Tali and Liara got there just before Garrus and pulled her into a crushing hug. Shepard laughed as they tangled her within their limbs.

"Thanks guys," she chuckled. "I missed you too."

As they parted from her, Garrus and Shepard stood for a moment just looking at each other.

* * *

"Hey there, big guy. You're looking better than the last time I saw you," she said softly.

Garrus smiled and then almost immediately had to look away as he wrestled with emotions that had built up behind the wall of fake optimism he had carefully constructed over the past weeks.

When he felt he had some control, he looked at her again.

Same red hair, same green eyes, same smile and definitely the same personality.

He had missed her.

"I'm still mad at you for sending me away," he blurted out uncontrollably while his emotions were still in turmoil.

Shepard started to laugh, a flush of red tingeing her pale cheeks. With her bandaged left hand she reached up and touched his scarred face. "Well I guess I'lll have to find a way to make you not mad then."

Her bright green eyes began to fill with tears. "I've missed you," Jane said so softly that he almost didn't hear it.

Garrus grabbed her and pulled her close, locking her in his arms. Shepard sank into them and buried her face into his armor. "This isn't a dream, is it Garrus? You're really here, right?"

"I'm here, Jane. I'm far too handsome to be a dream."

Shepard laughed then playfully slapped his armor with her hand.

They eventually - and with great reluctance - pulled apart to see Tali and Liara tactfully looking the other way and discussing the ship.

Cortez was busy pretending to have some strange fascination with the shuttle's door mechanism.

Shepard pulled Garrus's head down to hers, kissed him softly then stepped away.

She quickly wiped away some stray tears on her cheeks before she next spoke. "Okay guys. Let's get you all introduced to the crew here."

Cortez requested to remain at the shuttle. "Just in case, Commander," he said.

* * *

She led Liara, Tali and Garrus out of the docking bay and down a long narrow corridor to the main elevator, all the while chatting about how she ended up with this ship and asking what seemed like hundreds of questions about their own adventure.

Crewmen would nod or politely say hello to them as they passed by. To all except Tali.

Shepard had labelled it as a once off when the first crew-member she met almost hissed at the young quarian.

Now as they continued deeper into the ship, she began to realize that the hostility was not confined to that lone shipmate.

Everyone she met greeted her quarian friend with open hostility but did not step into more than that. It seemed that being on Shepard's crew offered a form of protection for her.

She gripped Tali close. "I'm not sure why they are being like this to you but stick close to me."

Tali nodded, unsure of what she had done to deserve such treatment from people she didn't know.

When they reached the bridge they were greeted by Tiberius who was all smiles until he registered Tali's presence.

Almost immediately his hand went to his sidearm and he pulled it out as a low threatening growl started in his chest.

Garrus in response got his own side arm out but didn't directly point it at Tiberius.

He noticed from the corner of his eye Shepard waving her hand to get his attention and defuse the situation by putting his gun away.

Garrus looked at her confused as to why until he heard a click exceptionally close to his head as Gaius arrived from the side and placed a gun barrel to his head.

"I think you need to hand that over. Now," Gaius growled.

Tiberius joined in as raised his weapon and pointed it at Garrus.

Shepard shouted, "Stop this! Let's not go overboard here. Tiberius went for his side arm first. Garrus was just responding."

Garrus focused his gaze on Gaius as he slowly handed over his gun.

The turian was unreadable as he took the carnifex from him.

He watched as Gaius took apart the gun with ease then handed the pieces to one of the nearby crew.

* * *

He turned his attention to the anxious Tali.

"Quarian, hand over your omnitool." he snarled.

"Tali, do not do that." Shepard commanded.

Gaius pointed his gun at Tali's helmet. In what seemed like one move, every member of the crew on the bridge rose up and drew their weapons and them at Tali.

"Hand over your omni tool or I will execute you here," Gaius's said with an eerie calm. His normal warm blue eyes were cold and emotionless.

Shepard glanced around and wished she had a firearm on her.

Liara had already been disarmed by Tiberius but was standing by to use biotics at Shepard's command.

"Gaius, this is completely unnecessary. Back off now! Tali, do not hand over your omni tool," Jane snapped.

The quarian turned to her friend. "I'm sorry, Shepard. I..." Tali quickly replied before her voice turned to almost a whisper, "... I don't want to die here. I don't want any of you hurt because of an omnitool."

Tali with a shaky hand unclipped her omnitool and handed it over. Gaius practically ripped it from her hand and passed it to Tiberius.

"Scan her for monitoring equipment."

Tiberius handed the omnitool to another crewman then revealed his own and performed a scan on the trembling Tali.

A couple of beeps went off.

"She has a number of surveillance equipment on her suit alongside the standard hidden secondary omnitool. The medical staff should be able to remove them without a major suit breach."

Gaius nodded. "Take her away. Remove the equipment only."

"And after?"

"Contact me and I will make a decision then."

Shepard stood in front of Tali. "No. I am not letting you take her anywhere. Stop this!"

Gaius snarled, "You should have told us the quarian was going to be one of the landing party but no. No, you left that bit of information out."

"What's your problem?! It was a last minute change. If this is racism against the quarians-"

Gaius roared as his temper snapped free of the tenuous grip he had on it. "You know nothing! Don't stand here in judgement of things that you don't comprehend!"

Shepard pushed Gaius back. "Tali is one of my crew! I'm not going to allow you to do this. You can consider my help rescinded if you continue this course of action."

"Fine! Leave then and take your little quarian with you. We can do this without you!"

Shepard was angry but Gaius was incensed.

She had never seen this side of him with his temper and anger clouding his normally good judgement.

It seemed at odds with the calm collected man she had thought she had known him to be.

* * *

"What's going on here?"

Garrus jolted visibly and turned to stare at the source of the voice.

An older turian ambled towards the confrontation from the pilots chamber.

"Gaius... Tiberius... all of you! Stand down."

Shepard faintly recognized the turian but it was only when Garrus hissed out, "Sidonis!", that it fully registered who it was.

Tiberius was loathed to lower his handgun as were the rest of the bridge crew it seemed.

Gaius bared his teeth at Tali and snarled viciously at the young quarian.

That snapped Garrus out of his intent glare at Sidonis. He pushed Gaius back only to huff out a breath as the turian met the challenge with a quick shoulder charge into the stomach.

The momentum was enough to allow him to slam Garrus into one of the metal bulkheads.

Sidonis roared, "I SAID STAND DOWN! Not keep doing what you are doing!"

Gaius reluctantly backed off from where he had pinned Garrus to the wall as Tiberius re holstered his gun.

Sidonis turned to the rest of his crew. "Get back to your posts. We still have a mission to complete."

He stepped up close to Gaius who stood staring at an angry Garrus and gently touched his arm.

Gaius tilted his head close to Sidonis who whispered something. The younger man turned and talked in low but clearly angry tones to Sidonis.

Eventually Sidonis raised his hand to halt Gaius's diatribe. He said something quietly once more and Gaius slowly nodded before he strode off of the bridge without another word but his face darkened with anger.

Sidonis murmured, "Go after him, Tiberius. I'd imagine he is headed to the gym."

Tib didn't need to be told twice. He snorted with disgust at Shepard and Tali before he headed out.

* * *

The older turian then turned his attention to the Normandy crew in front of him.

"Not quite the introduction that I had planned. Commander Jane Shepard, Garrus Vakarian and Dr. Liara T'soni, welcome to my ship - the _Ad Astra_."

He nodded to Tali.

"Ms Tali'Zorya, you are welcome here too in spite of the welcome you have received. I apologize for my boys and their overzealous behavior. However I shall need you to cooperate with certain restrictions we have. We require any devices that you have installed removed. If not then I shall have to insist that you leave my ship immediately."

Shepard was still angry and snapped back, "Tali is a member of my crew and, more than that, my friend. I trust her. I insist that she have the same liberties and be treated like the rest of my crew."

"Commander, what you do on your own ship is your own business. This is mine. The choices I've given you are clear and they are non-negotiable."

"I've made my position clear to Gaius and you too. If you can't respect her presence as an equal member of my team then I will not help you."

Sidonis sighed. "Well that is a shame then. It's a shame that you equate respect with allowing your quarian free reign to roam my ship with whatever surveillance technology she desires. Respect, Commander, is a two way street. It has been an honor. You are free to leave."

Shepard was taken aback, her anger dissipating. "Wait. You're just going to let me go? You went through the trouble of saving my life to get me to aid you and now you're just giving up because of Tali?"

"Commander, we have a mission to complete so we shall just find alternative routes. Now there is the door, Commander. I shall inform my crew of your departure."

Sidonis turned away and started back up the bridge.

* * *

Tali reached out and touched Shepard's arm.

"Shepard, it means a lot to me that you have stood up in my defense but I don't mind going back to the Normandy."

"Tali..."

"It's alright, Shepard. Not very friendly around here anyway."

"That's what I don't understand," Shepard murmured as she rubbed her forehead.

"It's fine. I'll go and get Cortez to take me back."

"Just wait one second, Tali," Jane said before she quickly walked after the old turian.

Shepard strode up the bridge after Sidonis who she found talking in hushed tones to a particularly upset crewman.

As she got closer she overheard snippets of conversation.

"-I know. I know. Deep breaths. If you need to then take some time to yourself."

"-after all this time, I thought I would be past this..."

"Some hurts run deep, my boy. Time heals only so much."

The crewman noticed her arrival.

His eyes were red-rimmed as though he was holding back from... crying? Jane frowned. Turians didn't cry.

Sidonis turned to where the young man was looking then he gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Praxius, go and take the day to yourself. Gaius and Tiberius are probably beating the living hell out of each other in the gym so feel free to give the crew an update on who wins."

Praxius gave a shaky nod and made to rush out but found himself held back. Sidonis had grabbed his arm before he pulled him into a hug. Praxius, initially surprised, returned it gratefully.

Sidonis drew back and patted the side of Praxius's head.

The young turian gave a half smile then took off quickly, giving a wide berth to Tali and the others as he went past.

* * *

Sidonis gave a deep sigh then turned to Shepard.

"Commander, is there something else for us to discuss?"

"There's a lot, Sidonis. I remember you."

Sidonis gave a lopsided grin. "Well I did like to think I was unforgettable when I was young."

Shepard crossed her arms; her face remained impassive.

The old turian coughed awkwardly. "Alright, I suppose we should talk. Bring who you wish but I must insist the quarian return to your shuttle and remain within its confines if you insist on refusing my rules. I shall have some guards posted outside. Once she is within the vessel, her omnitool shall be returned."

"Is that non-negotiable?"

"Commander, I'm not above using force here. If I gave the order I guarantee it would not end well for your quarian or yourselves."

Shepard bit back on her anger. "Give me a moment then."

* * *

Jane walked back to her crew.

"I hate to ask this of you but could you return to the shuttle, Tali?"

"I told you already, Shepard. It's no problem at all."

"You will get your omnitool back once you get inside the shuttle. Do you want one of us to go with you?"

Liara spoke up. "I'll go with her."

"Thanks Liara."

Shepard rolled her neck then glanced sideways at Garrus. "We've a meeting to attend, big guy."

Garrus was staring at Sidonis who was standing further up talking to a pair of turians.

The pair saluted and then headed down to where Liara and Tali stood. They both had their assault rifles in hand and at the ready.

"I guess you are getting an escort, Tali," muttered Shepard.

The guards - Jonas and Lysander as Shepard recalled - stood posture perfect with eyes focused on Tali.

Shepard clenched her jaw. "Gentlemen, I expect my crew to arrive unharmed at the shuttle bay."

Jonas spoke. "As much as we respect you, we gave an oath to our captain and we shall keep to it to the best of our ability. They shall be unharmed."

"In spite of our own personal feelings," added Lysander with a growl.

Shepard just shook her head before turning to Liara and Tali. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

Jane watched her friends leave before she said softly to Garrus, "Lets go."

* * *

Sidonis stood ahead of them looking remarkably calm and serene.

As they approached, he motioned to a side door and went ahead of them.

They followed closely and eventually found themselves in a meeting room with a long central table. One end had wires still hanging down from the ceiling still in need of repair.

Sidonis took a seat at the top of the table before he indicated for them to take their seats.

He gave them a half smile and leaned back in his chair. "Well, I believe this is the part where you start asking questions."

Garrus dug his fingers into the table while Shepard assessed Sidonis.

He was older, his plates gnarled and covered in old scars with his colony markings so faded that it looked as though he had scrubbed them off but there was no doubt.

This was the same turian she had stopped Garrus from killing.

"So... how are you, Vakarian?" Sidonis asked.

Garrus said nothing but if looks could kill than Sidonis would have been dead a hundred times over by now.

The old turian started laughing. The hearty chuckling filled the room before he finally regained control of himself. "Forgive me. It's just so very amusing."

Shepard scowled. "What's amusing here?"

"That some things have never changed. In fact I think that this silence is exactly how my last conversation went with Vakarian over there. Thirty odd years after the fact and he still couldn't bring himself to forgive me, although I suppose that right now the wounds of my betrayal are still fresh for you. I, on the other hand, have had a long time to try and redeem myself."

Sidonis leaned forward. "I don't think I need to explain about where we have come from. Although if you wish I'm sure one of the many engineers on the ship would have no problem burning your human ears off explaining the theory behind our not quite perfect arrival in this particular time."

"That is a very human expression."

Sidonis got a far away look in his eyes and a hint of a smile threatened the side of his mouth. "I had a very good teacher in human idiosyncrasies."

Shepard rubbed her neck, "So you're from the future?"

"A future. Our arrival to this moment in the past has now split what was our future from this new time-line. Your past to a certain point is the exact same as ours with the fundamental change being our arrival. We are not from the Hierarchy either. I know what Gaius has told you, Commander, and he technically told you the truth. He was just vague about the time frame."

"If you are not part of the Hierarchy then who are you? I mean you are all turians on this ship."

"There is much that I cannot say for very good reasons but it should be sufficient for you right now to know that a large group of us separated from the Hierarchy over 35 years ago, at least when we were in our own time. We took over Omega, ousted the criminal element and made it our own. It has become a productive and lawful society, something I never thought I could ever say about Omega. We set about keeping it as free from of the interference of the council races as the old Omega was. We've been at odds with the Hierarchy since then. We are all turians, just of differing degrees."

Shepard rubbed her forehead. "How the hell did you manage to get here? Why are you here?"

Sidonis smiled. "I'm no expert on that. I can give you the simplified version of events as I sort of understand it. We used the accretion disk of the super-massive black hole in the centre of the galaxy to sort of hyper charge the Grav Point engine. It nearly tore us apart, caused catastrophic failures in most systems but somehow we managed to get through. We arrived just three weeks before the final assault on Earth. We spent a lot of time getting critical repairs done before we had the ship in a state that could withstand another jump. Which you know we did and managed to get to you."

Sidonis glanced out the window. "As for the why, a group of... cultists stole an experimental drive system that we were in the process of scrapping because of unforeseen consequences. We managed to track the drive system back to here. Don't ask me how the tech heads did that. "

Sidonis grinned. "I was lost in the first five minutes of the explanation."

"So what was wrong with this engine that you were scrapping it?"

"I'm not yet at liberty to explain."

Shepard scowled. "I think your idea that somehow you should still have secrets when the biggest one is out of the bag is hilarious."

"Shepard, your idea that somehow you're entitled to know every detail when you're only involved in order for us to hopefully avoid slaughtering asari is also quite amusing."

Garrus who sat in silence until that point suddenly snarled, "Stop stonewalling, Sidonis! Tell us what is going on!"

Sidonis's left eye twitched.

"Fine. I suppose it would make no difference if you know now or later. The engine is an experimental device. Our Grav Point is one of the first test models. We don't require mass relays to travel vast distances because the Grav Point allows us to "fold" space-time allowing for almost instantaneous travel. The biggest problem is that the amount of energy and computation required before every jump is immense. Tristan was initially a computation program solely but the need for more intricate thinking in relation to the dynamic forces involved in the folding process resulted in us having to elevate that relatively simple program to AI status."

Sidonis sighed. "The experimental drive that was stolen was about 20 times as powerful as our own. It was a mistake. It's initial engine test tore the research station and the planet it was on apart. It left a fissure that split space-time itself. Two of these engines were produced. With the destruction of the first model, we had brought the second engine to another remote station for decommissioning and recycling. Unfortunately someone else wanted it."

"If the engine is that dangerous then why the hell would anyone want the thing?"

"Because of the fissure. The fissure was a crack into another dimension, a dimension that we had some prior experience with. There are terrible creatures that are native to that universe and they came through. We called them the "Aegrus." The things are like a disease. They infect and convert almost anything to their cause. It's horrific watching people being eaten alive from within and becoming cocoons for those things. We had fought them previously and brought them to a standstill. Following the first invasion, a small percentage of the surviving civilian populations within the war-zones became infected by a form of genetic remnant of the creatures. It turned them delusional and they became convinced that the Aegrus were gods. We suspect that the group we have followed here intend on opening up the original fissure a few decades early."

"First time? Now that you will need to explain. If they're from an alternate dimension then how did they break through?", Shepard asked.

"Haestrom was the key. They had conquered their own universe, their own dimension and their insatiable hunger drove them to seek access into another one. They began cracking through into the core of Haestrom's star, Dholen. We have yet to discover how they managed to do this but some of our theorists believe that they are able to "see", after a fashion, the bulges caused by stars and their immense gravity. We know now that they were the cause of the accelerated lifespan of the star itself. They had tapped into the core and drained it's hydrogen supply to fuel their own process of cracking a way in. They managed to cause a breach after forcing the star into a premature red giant stage. Haestrom became their staging ground for an invasion. We had a ship on its maiden voyage in the area and it witnessed the initial waves emerge from Dholen."

Sidonis rubbed his neck. "Most of the crew on this ship are veterans of that war. Spirits, what a war. The Reaper war, the krogan rebellions, even the rachi had nothing on this and we had almost no help. There was no galactic alliance to aid us; the council species felt that it was not their issue. They didn't believe the threat was as severe as we claimed. They didn't believe us but they had no choice when it was far too late as their colonies in the surrounding areas fell to the Aegrus's rapid expansion. The Aegrus then began shutting down mass relays that connected us to the rest of the galaxy so it became our duty to stand the line. Every step forward, every push was fought against creatures that are as far removed from us as we are from pyjaks . They were brutal, calculating and we had to met them head on with a brutality all of our own. We managed to push the vast majority of them back into the breach they emerged from before we closed it. That final battle over Haestrom was one hell of a fight. Our main fleet bombarded the planet, our ground troops drove the majority of the Aegrus host off the world to force them to regroup at the breach and then the bravest of us went into the heart of Dholen itself with a warp bomb to trigger a fissure collapse. The bomb resulted in a supernova-type explosion which sterilized the system."

Sidonis stared into space, drifting off into his memories.

"We lost so many brave young men and women, so many families lost their loved ones to the cause, for a galaxy that didn't care."

Sidonis rubbed his eyes. "Some people thought we were crazy as we left, you know. They felt that we had saved our own time and universe, that we should leave those cultists go because they could not affect us. But it was our mistake and we can not rest until our people have been redeemed in full."

Shepard frowned. "If what you say is true then your people have nothing to be redeemed for."

Sidonis leaned his chin on a closed fist. "We who had faced that nightmare then recreated it and now have almost unleashed it on an unknowing and unprepared galaxy. That for us requires redemption, requires us to fix our mistakes."

* * *

Shepard could see regret etched across his face.

"You have taken on the responsibility of this personally. Why?" she queried.

"I had to make the call on whether we ran the experimental drive test or not. We developed these engines so we would not have to rely on the mass relays. This new experimental device was supposed to help us go further, to even possibly find a new solar system of our own... a home-world far away from the rest of the galaxy. The bulk of the evidence at the time pointed to a uneventful test run. I opted to run the test so the responsibility falls to me. We just barely managed to close the damn breach but so many more good people died. Once this mission was given the go ahead, I immediately volunteered to command it."

Shepard couldn't help but feel sympathy for the old turian. She knew all too well the scars carried by those who lead.

A question suddenly popped to the front of her mind overriding any other thoughts.

"What is the issue with quarians?"

Sidonis grimaced.

"That I can't answer. Commander, I wish I could tell you but some stories are not only mine to tell. I will speak to my crew about allowing the quarian access to the public areas of the ship without fear of being accosted but only if you respect my wishes about what she is allowed carry on her person. And it would also be prudent for her to stay away from Gaius. He can be quite rash sometimes."

"What is his problem with quarians in particular? It just seemed to get quite personal for him back there with Tali."

Sidonis sat back. "My son has had a difficult life, Commander. I am telling you, as his father, that your friend should not push her luck with him."

"He is your son? Or is this one of those respect things that he has been talking to me about?"

Sidonis smiled. "I reared him with my wife and our two boys on Omega. He carries my name with pride."

He again looked out the window at the drifting stars. "I'm very proud of him, Commander. He has made decisions that I have not agreed with, some that I find... difficult to even comprehend but he is a good man at heart. I think you see that too."

"I do, Sidonis. You've done a good job raising him."

He stared at her oddly before starting to laugh. It turned into a fit of coughing and sputtering.

Shepard stood up. "I'll get you some water..."

Sidonis waved her help away. "No I am alright but thank you."

He stood up shakily then extended his hand to Shepard.

"I'm afraid that I must go and rest. It's going to be busy for the next few days. Can we expect your company?"

Shepard reached out and gripped his hand tightly. "I don't completely trust you but if this threat is really what you say it is then I can't stand by and do nothing. When do you plan on going to the Parnitha system?"

"It's going to take us around a day to let the engineers get what they need done to the engine. In the meantime I can spare a small detachment of repair crew to help with any lingering repairs to the Normandy. We should have enough space to dock her in Bay 1."

"Thank you. I would also like a meeting at your earliest convenience tomorrow. I want full disclosure on this mission to Kurinth. If you need me in the mean time I shall be on the Normandy."

Sidonis nodded. "Until tomorrow then, Commander."

* * *

Shepard whispered to Garrus, placed a hand on his shoulder then headed out.

Garrus said nothing and just stared with cold eyes at Sidonis. He then stood and turned to follow Shepard out of the meeting room.

"Garrus Vakarian..."

The turian stopped and looked back to the old man.

"Every sin should stay in its right place; with the one who committed it. One day I hope you will remember that and... remind another of that too. I think you will know when the time comes."

Sidonis turned back to stare out at the stars.

"Goodbye, Vakarian."


	6. Home

"I cannot name my battles  
For the visions are not clear,  
Yet, I see the twisted faces  
And I feel the rending spear."  
  
 _Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

Shepard's homeward journey to the Normandy was not as she had imagined it.

In her dreams there was laughter and joy. All her friends together celebrating a future without Reapers. Perhaps even a future without war for her.

Instead there was silence.

Tali was sitting close to Liara who was talking to the quarian quietly - offering what comfort she could Shepard assumed.

Garrus sat close to her with his fingers clenched painfully tight around her hand but she didn't mind.

She felt she needed an anchor at that moment. The talk with Sidonis weighed heavily on her tired mind.

Far too soon - at last it seemed that way to Jane - they docked on the Normandy.

The next few hours aboard were a blur.

Vega nearly crushed her under a hug; Kaiden nodded and shook her hand; while Javik merely mentioned that it was not bad to see her alive.

The rest of the crew stopped her at various points to shake her hand and congratulating the hero.

She didn't feel like a hero.

In a strange way she felt as though she had lived in a dream on the _Ad Astra_. The very real consequences of her actions were so far away from that ship that she had lost sight of the devastation that they had all just survived.

Garrus never strayed too far from her, always subtly keeping a hold on her as she made her way through the ship.

* * *

She spent some time talking to Joker.

He told her about EDI, about what happened to the Normandy during the crash and, in ways he didn't realize, told her how devastated he was by EDI's "death" with every pained word and movement.

This was not what Shepard wanted but, with EDI's and the Geth's sacrifice, the Reapers were finally dead.

Her mind and body had progressively become worn down as the day finally took its toll on her still recovering body.

Shepard found it harder and harder to keep her eyes open and before she could finish her first yawn Jane was suddenly pulled to her feet from her seat beside Jeff.

"Sorry, Joker. Shepard needs to get some rest. It's been a long day." muttered Garrus as he supported her around her waist.

"No problem. We can talk again tomorrow, Commander."

Shepard smiled then let Garrus lead her out and help her into the elevator.

* * *

As she reached to push for the cabin floor, Garrus caught her hand then directed it to the button for the crew deck.

"Chakwas first, Jane."

She leaned in to him and sighed as he held her. "Really? Can't we just go upstairs and, you know, reunite properly?"

She could feel his mandibles spread across the top of her head as he smiled.

"I'd rather know your limits first. It's not too far and I am sure the good doctor won't keep the galactic hero waiting."

Shepard stiffened in his arms.

"Shepard? What's wrong? Did I say something-"

"Don't call me that. I'm not a hero." She looked up into his worried eyes. "Too many people have died for me to be called that."

"Jane..."

She pushed her head against his chest as the door opened to the crew deck.

"Come on, big guy. I don't think the doctor will do house calls today."

* * *

Shepard lay back on a bed in the medical bay.

Garrus sat in a chair beside it while he leafed through a data pad full of the intricate lists that he made.

She had just spent nearly 30 minutes locked into a scanner and then had been ordered to stay here until Chakwas had finished reviewing the results.

Shepard glanced over at the sheet covered figure on the bed closest to the AI core. "I'm sorry, EDI." she whispered.

Garrus grabbed her hand. "Let's not lose hope yet. We might be able to find a way to help her."

Jane stifled a whimper before she coughed to vainly hide her distress. "Maybe when we get the Normandy docked tomorrow for repairs we could ask them to take a look. They already have an AI of their own. No harm in asking, right?"

Garrus nodded but didn't let her hand go.

* * *

The moment was interrupted by Chakwas returning to their side.

She seemed troubled as she looked over the data pad in her hand. "Commander, for the most part you are fit and healthy. Obviously discounting some residual healing that does not need medical intervention."

Shepard grinned. "That face you're wearing, Doctor, is not one you normally have when you tell me I'm fine."

Chakwas scratched her head a little before she hoisted herself up to sit on the edge of the bed.

She looked straight at Shepard with a slightly worried look. "Commander, how are you feeling? Any aches or pains? Nausea?"

"Nothing except for my hands. Oh and a bit of back pain but Mikis said that it was just a mild muscle pull."

"You underwent extensive care over on the _Ad Astra_?"

"Almost everyday I had a check up - which I'd like to add was overkill in my opinion."

Chakwas glanced again at her datapad.

"Maybe not quite, Commander. I need to get this damn machine looked at before I can make a definite diagnosis. I would also very much like to consult with this Mikis fellow."

"Doctor, what's going on? You have me worried."

Garrus spoke up, "You're also worrying me."

"It's nothing serious but before I make any pronouncement I would like to get this scanner looked at and to chat to your previous physician. Very much a standard procedure, Commander."

Shepard swallowed the lump in her throat and then nodded. "I'll arrange for him to met with you tomorrow."

Chakwas patted her hand and smiled. "Trust me, Commander. It's nothing bad but I do need to get it all verified."

She got off the bed and activated her omnitool.

Chakwas tapped something out then smiled as Garrus's own one beeped. "That is the list of things she should refrain from doing for the next while. I'm giving it to you because you have the best shot at stopping her."

Garrus let out a sigh as he read the list. "This is a lot of stuff that she is prohibited from..."

"You will manage I'm sure. Commander, you are free to go. Once I have more details and this scanner is certified as perfectly operational then I shall contact you."

Shepard gingerly got off the bed then took a look at the list.

"Wow. This is extensive. Wait... no missions? You're benching me, Karin?"

Chakwas placed her hand on Shepard's shoulder. "You will get used to it. There will be plenty of things to do around the ship. You might even catch up on some of that mountain of paperwork left over. Now I have some appointments due that should get ready for. Have a good night, Commander and ah, welcome back."

* * *

Garrus slowly led her out of the med bay while Shepard gripped his arm that held the open omnitool.

The list was long and included almost every thing that was remotely fun.

She sighed as she realized that she had pretty much lived this list already on the turian vessel.

Mikis had similarly forbidden her from a lot of things.

It occurred to her how odd it was that while she had lived these restrictions for the past few weeks but it only really bothered her now that was written down and someone was going to be actively preventing her.

She smiled as she remembered that she actually did have someone stopping her on the turian ship.

Gaius was very resourceful and seemed to have spies everywhere.

"Remembering something funny?" Garrus's voice hummed with a slight warble tingeing it.

Shepard let go of her hold on his arm and leaned in close. "Just remembering a time when I tried to get hold of a bottle of wine. I learned that the _Ad Astra_ had a small supply of alcohol for visitors in the galley so I thought that I could just sneak down and grab a bottle. Mikis had banned me from alcohol just like Chakwas."

A big grin spread across her face as they stepped in the elevator as she continued her story.

"So I planned it out and then at one shift change I went for it. The shift handover could take up to an hour to sort out because of the amount of repairs they were working through. No one was around so I crept over there and grabbed the first bottle I got my hands on. I was so pleased with myself and just headed straight to my quarters. I got to the room and couldn't stop myself from opening it almost immediately."

Shepard started laughing. "The damn thing exploded out white powder when I opened it. I stood there in shock covered in this powder. I ran out to find Gaius to figure out if I had been poisoned or something. He took one look at me and laughed manically for at least 5 minutes. When he finally calmed down, he told me that he had taken the alcohol supplies to a new, and undisclosed, location when I was still on bed rest. He then rigged some empty bottles with a tiny explosive charge and filled them up with flour."

The elevator stopped and opened at Shepard's cabin. They stepped out and headed into her room.

"It became a lot funnier after an hour had passed. He knew me too well." Shepard grinned. "He was actually quite impressed by my resilience. He thought I would have gone for it about a week earlier. That's when I found out about the betting ring."

Garrus pressed up against her back and slid his arms around her waist.

"What betting ring?"

Shepard shivered as he slowly traced circles with his tongue on the back of her neck before he ghosted his mandibles and teeth over her shoulder that he exposed.

"I'm not going to remember much...ahh..with you distracting me..."

"Oh I'm sure you can finish it."

"Heh. You might have too little confidence in certain... skill-sets you have."

Garrus burst out laughing.

"Ok. Peace for 2 minutes."

Shepard grinned, turned around and gently slid her arms around his neck.

"I found out that half the crew had put bets on when I would break one of the many rules on the 'Mikis list' as they called it. That was the first breach."

"Who won the pool then?"

Shepard tugged Garrus's mouth down to hers.

"Don't know and, at this very moment, I don't care so much either."

Garrus's chuckle muffled as Shepard kissed him. His hands roamed and began finding the catches on her clothes as he pushed her back on the bed.

She had missed him.

* * *

Jane woke up to find herself naked while sprawled across a sleeping and very naked turian.

Garrus had a vice like grip around her waist and was snoring softly.

She allowed herself for a little while to enjoy the feeling, one which not so long ago she had been so afraid of but then again she had also thought she was going to have to die for the galaxy to be saved.

This feeling of not being so alone, of having a place with someone in the universe was still so new but ridiculously addicting. Being an orphan, a street rat on Earth had been rough but it was that feeling of loneliness that had killed her slowly inside.

She felt as if she had been dying of thirst then was suddenly offered as much water as she could cope with. It had overwhelmed at the start. She gently stroked his scarred side as her body moved up and down with his breathing.

She finally convinced herself to get up and slid off him to some sleepy murmurs of protest.

She hoisted her legs over the bed's edge and sat for a few minutes. She yawned and rubbed her back.

Her hands needed to be re-bandaged, but that was such a regular thing at this stage that she could do it in her sleep, and she was exhausted. Overall very little damage considering everything that they had been up the previous night.

She smiled and her cheeks tinged red as the memories flooded back.

Just as she made to get up she was yanked back down. Garrus pulled her back into his arms till she was flush against his body then threw a sheet over them.

"No moving. Just sleep time now." he murmured.

"Sorry, big guy, but I'm going to have to get up."

One tired blue eye opened and peered at her. "Not now. We're owed a sleep in. One that is long overdue."

Jane ran a finger down his nose ridges. "There's also a mountain of work to do and a meeting to attend."

Garrus snorted. "How about you finally trust someone else to do it and just leave us have a moment of peace?"

Jane kissed him deeply before she managed to scrabble out of his grasp. "Not today, big guy."

She smirked, "You did a lot of the hard work last night so how about you sleep in? I'll fill you in on the mission details when I get back."

As she headed for the bathroom, she heard the bed creak a little as Garrus hauled himself grumbling out of bed.

* * *

It was strange seeing the Normandy dry-docked in another ship.

The repair crew had placed a number of mass field generators under her to keep her from actually touching the docking bay and were now hard at work getting the hull reasonably reinforced.

Not that her crew had done a bad job of it but the looks on the faces of the engineers as they inspected the ship for the first time said it all.

It mainly said "How the hell is this thing still together?" mixed with some other more colorful words.

Tali had requested to stay on board the Normandy to deal with the engine, no doubt also to avoid any confrontation.

Any supplies she needed she would relay to Vega who was now the liaison to the repair crew.

After just a few hours Shepard became convinced she had made the right choice of Vega instead of Kaiden, Liara or anyone else.

He just settled straight into the banter and jokes of the engineers, a code of trust almost for that group in particular. If you could handle being joked about and make some witty comebacks of your own then you had friends for life.

Before she had even left to attend the mission debrief she overheard snippets of a prank on Joker being discussed with Vega being the guy with the plan. The work was going smoothly and that's what really mattered.

The matter of EDI was slightly more complex. For that she was going to have to get the okay from Sidonis.

* * *

Garrus fell into step beside her.

This time she also brought Kaiden, Liara and Javik.

Since she was now essentially restricted to ship duties by Chakwas, it was not such a bad idea to bring the people who would make up the ground teams for the foreseeable future.

They were directed to the meeting room once they reached the bridge.

Upon entering they were greeted by Sidonis, who smiled warmly, and Tiberius who was sporting some new cuts with a large bruise over his left eye.

"You look like you have been through a war," Shepard joked.

Tiberius merely grunted and took his seat as Shepard's relatively high spirits immediately took a dive. Tiberius apparently held grudges after yesterday's confrontation over Tali.

Shortly after a tired and bruised Gaius appeared. He said nothing and didn't even glance her way as he took a seat next to Tiberius.

Sidonis coughed and Shepard could see that he was not impressed about the silent treatment they had received.

"So, Commander... I hope your first night back on your ship was refreshing."

Shepard half smiled, "It was great. Thank you Sidonis. And you? Are you feeling better today?"

"Oh yes. I was harangued by Gaius for about an hour before he would finally let me be. Isn't that right, Gaius?"

Gaius nodded but remained focused on arranging charts with Tiberius on the table.

Sidonis sighed. "Well let's get started. Tiberius?"

* * *

Tiberius activated a small holo-device on the centre of the table.

It displayed a map of the Parnitha system before it zoomed in to the first planet around the star, Kurinth.

"This is Kurinth. This little planet has a beautiful average surface temperature of 732ºC with atmospheric pressures of a crushing 69.95atm. Luckily we're not actually landing on the planet itself."

Tiberius zoomed the map in to the most northerly point.

"We're heading to orbit here. Somewhere in the atmosphere at this point is a small gravity disturbance. It's barely noticeable - in fact if you weren't looking for it specifically then you would most likely never see it. I can't be 100% certain but, coupled with some other results we got in, it's probable that it has what we are looking for."

Shepard murmured, "Certain indivisible parameters then?"

Tiberius glanced at her. "Indeed, Commander."

He turned back to the holo-device.

Another image became superimposed over the planetary map. It looked like a small space station, circular in design with no visible access points or even view ports. She had personally never seen a design like it.

"This is what I hope we find. If my readings are correct, this will be about 5 kilometres into the atmosphere. The plan is to board the craft and collect as much data as possible. We plan on entering here... " Tiberius pointed to an vague and almost indistinguishable area on the station, "... which should leave us close to the main information hubs. I'll be remaining on the shuttle to keep the comms and other data systems operational. I could use a ground team from your crew to aid in the date retrieval, Commander. It should mainly be just accessing various terminals around the vessel. Nothing too strenuous. Gaius?"

The other turian stood up and began to speak.

"There's another part to the station that my unit will be accessing in particular. This central core is an area that we are particularly interested in. If the centre of the station is closed off then it will extend the mission time considerably. The locking mechanisms are complicated to say the least. This technology hasn't been seen since the first cycle."

Garrus interrupted. "Wait. Are you saying this station has remained hidden since the very first cycle, since the Leviathans? How is that even possible? This is the asari home system. Every planet here has been studied for thousands of years."

Gaius turned his cold piercing gaze on Garrus. "As Tiberius has said, if you weren't looking for it then it's unlikely you would ever find it. The only reason we know about it is because we found a similar one on Gotha in the Dholen system."

Gaius turned back to the schematics on the holo-image. "If the doors are locked then my unit and I would need to go EVA and gain access to an external unit here."

The image showed a small section of what seemed like maintenance conduits.

"Once there we will have to infiltrate down through some service tunnels to another point here. At this terminal we should be able to bypass the locking mechanism but only for a short time. At this point we need a team to manually jam the doors open."

Shepard looked at the map thoughtfully. "So a job for my crew then? Door jamming doesn't exactly seem like a good use of our time considering what we have been doing."

Gaius didn't look at her. "As I said, this is if the central core is locked down. I can easily pick from my squad but I felt it would be best to allow the Normandy have some input since you#ve decided to stick around. In the event that the core is easily accessible then you will be assisting Tiberius with data collection. If that's not exciting enough than don't send your crew. We can deal with it ourselves."

Shepard stared at him.

Gaius was studiously ignoring her as much as he could.

Eventually Jane rubbed her face and shrugged. "Alright. We'll take the job but I want one of my crew to go into the core with you. I would also like copies of whatever data you find transferred to my ship."

Gaius and Tiberius looked to Sidonis who nodded.

"The terms are acceptable."

"Ok, I'll get a squad together."

* * *

"Commander..." She looked up to face Sidonis. "There is still the matter of getting the asari to co operate. It would be prudent of us to get permission before we jump into their system."

"I'll get in touch with the asari councillor. Tevos owes me a few favors."

"The galaxy owes you a lot more than favors, Commander."

"Speaking of that, I've a request to ask of you."

His mandibles flicked against his face and he nodded for her to continue.

"We have a damaged AI on board the Normandy. She was... is a valued member of my crew. If you could spare someone to take a look at her?"

Sidonis sighed.

"I don't have a lot of people with AI program experience on board but I do have two with some that I might be able to free up. Of course there is also Tristan. What happened to her, Commander?"

"I'm not sure. She had Reaper code in her programming. I think it may have been affected by the Crucible firing."

"Oh. Oh dear. Hmm. Tristan?"

A holo activated beside Sidonis. "Yes, Captain?"

"The Commander here needs some help restoring an AI. The AI apparently had reaper code and was likely affected by the data burst. Do you think it would be possible to restore her?"

Tristan tilted his head almost thoughtfully. "Perhaps but not to what she was."

The AI's holo-form turned to the Commander. "I should be able to piece a lot of her back together but she would be different."

"What do you mean?"

"She would be incomplete as the Reaper code would have been a part of what made her the person you knew. I could attempt to restore the reaper code too but I cannot not guarantee success."

Shepard grimaced, "It would be great if you would at least try, Tristan. She was a good friend and she deserves a second chance."

* * *

"Do I have permission, Captain?"

"You do. Safety protocols are to be followed to the letter of the law. Gaius has taught you some bad habits and we don't need another incident like this morning."

Gaius laughed, "Don't be too hard on him. I only made him switch the hot water to cold."

Sidonis shook his head.

"The screams around this ship when people tried to take showers was no laughing matter and it has been a nightmare for the maintenance crews. I thought it was bad enough having to deal with you and your brothers killing each other in the morning when you were kids."

Gaius blushed slightly then smiled. "I call your bluff. Mom said you missed us more than she did when we finally all left the nest."

"I bet she never told you of the lovely mornings we had together without having to listen to three boys tearing the house apart." Sidonis smirked, "There was still plenty of screaming but not from you three."

Gaius squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them with his hand. "I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing that." Gaius stood up and collected the items he had brought. "Commander, when you have decided on a ground party then please send the names and skill lists to Tiberius. Until the next time."

Gaius nodded goodbye then headed out. Tiberius followed soon after.

"I think this meeting is over then. We'll make preparations for the jump once you can give us the all clear from Councillor Tevos."

Shepard nodded.

Now the problem was convincing Tevos and she hoped that it would be the easiest part of her day.

* * *

"Tevos, all I'm asking for is that you let us access Kurinth."

"I'm not disputing that. Ilm just curious about why, instead of returning to Earth and the fleets, you're instead going into asari space?"

"Councillor, unfortunately I'm not in a position to disclose that information. Either allow us passage or we go in without permission. How would it look for the asari right now to fire upon the Normandy?"

Tevos opened her mouth to say something then stopped. She glared at Shepard then tapped something on her omnitool.

"I have sent you dispensation to access the Parnithia system across this link. I expect full disclosure on this once you have completed whatever the hell you are doing."

The image disappeared.

"You can hope, Councillor." Shepard muttered.

She sent a copy of the permit to the _Ad Astra_ along with the details of the ground crew she had picked.

Shepard's head throbbed with a headache.

Another trip to Chakwas was in order she mused.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day and they all needed to be at their best.


	7. Hunting on Kurinth

"Perhaps I stabbed our Savior  
In His sacred helpless side.  
Yet, I've called His name in blessing  
When after times I died."  
 _Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

Shepard was quite glad that the Normandy was safely stowed in docking bay 1 of the _Ad Astra_ as the larger ship's shields were constantly being buffeted by strong solar winds and radiation.

The jump to Parnitha had been as smooth as the first jump she had experienced to Eden Prime but now, in orbit over Kurnith, they were feeling the power of the local star.

She stood in docking bay 2 and watched as Tiberius oversaw the last checks on the shuttle that would take the ground teams into the atmosphere.

It was a heavily modified Kodiak with at least 50% thicker plating and a substantial mass field generator.

She heard footsteps that stopped behind her and turned to see Gaius standing there looking quite sheepish. "I am here to apologize, Commander."

He averted his eyes from her and glanced over to where Sidonis stood talking to Javik. "It was brought to my attention that I have been less then polite. I didn't mean to blank you or be an...asshole in general over the quarian."

Gaius returned his gaze to Shepard. His blue eyes seemed less cold, warmth finally coming back to those depths. "I'm sorry."

Shepard just extended her hand and he slowly gripped it in his. His mandibles pulled back as he gave a tight smile.

He started to head away when Shepard tugged him back into a hug.

Jane could sense his uncertainty as his muscles tensed then he gently wound his arms around her.

* * *

"Heeeey. Not interrupting, am I?" Garrus stood leaning heavily on his right leg with his head slightly tilted as he smiled at them.

Gaius pulled back, smiled awkwardly at her and said his goodbyes before he headed to where Sidonis was now getting into a heated debate with the prothean.

"He seems like a nice kid." Garrus murmured. Shepard smiled. "He is. He just popped over to say sorry."

"Well that was nice for you then."

Shepard nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Not jealous are you? At least he can say those words."

Garrus laughed. "If I ever needed to say them then I would. But obviously, I'm perfect in every way which is also why I don't need to be jealous."

Shepard smirked then grasped his hand in hers. "I don't think I need to say it but be careful. I would like you all to come back in one piece."

Garrus grinned. "It's going to be alright. I'm practically indestructible. I took a rocket to the face and very nearly a full beam from Harbinger with a flaming Mako on top. I think I can handle a quick stop here."

Shepard playfully punched him lightly in the arm.

He laughed then nuzzled her goodbye before he hopped into the shuttle to go over some last-minute checks.

Liara and Javik stopped and chatted before they too got on board.

Eventually Tiberius pointed out that she needed to head out of the docking bay before the doors opened.

Shepard nodded wistfully before she wished him luck and headed to the control room.

Sidonis took up a spot next to Shepard in the control room as the shuttle finally lifted off and headed out of the docking bay with its full complement of crew.

* * *

"Do you ever get over the worry about them, Sidonis?"

The old turian turned to Shepard. "No but they always come back." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "There was a time when I had to stop going on missions and that was the hardest thing I've ever done; the hardest thing I ever do is to send my boys out there without me. It never gets easier but you do begin to see the strength in your crew that you didn't notice before."

Jane subtly wiped a small tear that had formed in the corner of her eye.

"Come with me, Commander," Sidonis said softly as he offered her his arm. "I have some lovely teas in my office and we can keep updated on the mission there. I'm usually alone for this part so it would be very nice change to have some good company this time around."

Shepard smiled at him and slid her arm into the space offered by his as they headed out of the docking bay.

* * *

The atmospheric descent was rough with the shuttle shaking violently.

Liara watched out the window as the stars faded away into the thick smog of the methane and hydrogen atmosphere. Javik had verified his assault rifle's condition while Garrus stood near the pilots deck watching Tiberius.

The shuttle jolted around quite violently as Garrus gripped on tight to a handhold. Tiberius shouted over the noise, "I think I have it. It's in calm pocket just 6 clicks ahead. This is going to get rougher so hold on."

The shuttle began to descend further and then swung out to the right.

Garrus looked up at the ceiling as the pressure outside increased. He could hear the metal creaking and straining as they got closer to their destination. "

You might want to see this," Tib shouted back.

Garrus went to Tiberius's side. Out the window, barely visible through the fog, was a real-life version of the space-station they had seen in the meeting.

It was shimmering with energy - undoubtedly from the engine that maintained its orbit.

Tiberius muttered, "Step one accomplished. We have the thing. Now step two. Let's see if we can get ourselves inside."

* * *

The shuttle lined up with some difficulty with the designated entry point as the vehicle was constantly being hit by turbulence.

Tiberius finally activated some small generators on the side of the shuttle's doors and the shuttle became quite still.

Gaius glance at a small terminal. "We have a hard dock. Suit up fully ladies then we'll go."

The doors opened to reveal that the shuttle was hard sealed to the station by a mass field. It formed a hazy blue tunnel of energy that led to the station side.

Gaius strode out in to the tunnel as though it was second nature to him. Even Javik was cautious about stepping out essentially into space except wasn't.

They were on a planet of extremes and if the field failed then they would fall and burn up in the extreme heat and pressure.

Gaius was busy looking for something on the side of the station and eventually he found a small moveable piece.

He hooked it out and then triggered a small series of latches inside.

A door they had not known was there slid open and revealed the interior of the station to them.

Gaius equipped his assault rift and took point as his squad armed themselves and followed him. Garrus followed suit with Javik and Liara in close proximity. Once on board, Gaius re-sealed the main outer door which left Tiberius able to maneuver the shuttle to sit on the top of the station to conserve energy.

Garrus took a look around. They had passed through from the outer door into a small airlock that then sealed behind them as they advanced into another larger room. The lights were dim and flickered occasionally - casting strange shadows on the walls and generally adding to the atmosphere of foreboding.

"Great. I'm sure this is how those space horror movies start out," Garrus grumbled.

* * *

The radio crackled and Tib's voice came through. "How does it look in there?"

Gaius glanced around. "It looks exactly like the one on Gotha. The first room has been cleared. We're pressing on to the mezzanine."

"Understood. General Vakarian?"

Garrus winced at the title. "Yeah, I'm here."

"This is the one of four main frames rooms around the central mezzanine. I need you to locate a terminal just like the one I showed you in the images."

"Understood. And, ah, Tiberius?"

"Yes?"

"Don't call me General. Vakarian is just fine."

He glanced up to see Gaius staring at him from under his helmet.

His squad was busy hacking the door but he seemed more interested in the conversation Garrus was having with Tiberius.

The comms crackled again. "Understood, Vakarian."

He held Gaius's stare before the other turian audibly clicked his mandibles and returned to focus on his crew.

Liara located the terminal quite quickly. She inserted the converter into the specific port and waited.

"Perfect. I have access. Good job," they managed to hear from Tiberius despite all the static on the line.

The converter lit up green and began broadcasting.

"Gaius, good news. I can confirm the atmosphere has returned to life supporting standards. You can take off the helmets."

"Thanks, Tiberius."

Gaius activated a panel on the piece of his suit that lay around his neck. The helmet disengaged, disassembled and folded down neatly into the collar of his armor.

The others did the same. Garrus took his off and inhaled a deep breath. The air smelled slightly stale but it was better than being cooped up.

* * *

"We are through, sir."

The door slid open and revealed only darkness.

"Lets' go." Gaius once more took point and led his team in through the door.

The lights switched on as they stepped out into the larger room.

"Marcus, you take Lysander and Jun to the left and clear. I will take Graxius and Jack right. We meet at the far side. Let's not make any stupid mistakes here. Radio if you need help."

The Normandy team followed them in.

They stood in a cavernous room with what looked like two main floors and a mezzanine. They stood on the first floor with the second floor being far above their heads.

The mezzanine went in a circle around a large central containment field with some small ante rooms off the side.

On the opposite side to where they stood, he could just make out the stairs leading down.

Garrus lowered his weapon and stared into the containment field.

Lights were flickering on as the two squads ahead of them forged on, clearing rooms as they went. Liara stood at his side.

"I have never seen anything like that." she whispered.

Javik snorted. "Merely eezo allowed to crystallize. A long and expensive process but not anything special. These are quite large. In my time they would have been given as small gifts to especially gifted biotics."

The crystals were huge; they towered above them even as they were high off the main floor.

As Garrus walked around he noticed that the crystals had been arranged into a circle with a space for something in the centre. That something must be on the ground floor he surmised.

"Vakarian, can you read me?"

"I can. What's up, Tiberius?"

"I got word from Gaius. The central core is wide open so no need for your door jamming services. However, there are three other rooms to find with terminals similar to the one you just sorted for me. If you look back at the door you entered through you should see a symbol. The other doors have the same symbol. If you could go and do the same as you did in that first room then that should be all that I need you to do for now."

"Understood." Garrus turned to Javik and Liara. "Liara, you head down and rendezvous with the other squad. Shepard picked you to go in to the core. Javik, let's find these other rooms then we might get a chance to see these things up close."

Liara headed off, leaving Garrus and Javik to find the first room.

In all it took them about 40 minutes in all to activate the remaining terminals - their work hindered by some uncooperative doors and clutter.

"Thanks, Vakarian. You can probably head down to the others now," Tib said as the last data arrived in to his terminal.

"On my way there."

Javik was already jogging to the stairs with Garrus following close behind.

* * *

They found Marcus and Lysander sitting outside the entrance at the bottom of the stairs.

"Liara is inside, Vakarian," muttered Marcus. "If you're heading in then you need to leave your weapons here. The crystals can have strange effects and you don't really want to shoot those things."

Garrus handed over his rifle, which Marcus placed leaning against the wall, but not his side arm. He preferred to not be completely defenseless.

Javik did the same.

"Wait. You are a biotic right?"

Javik glared at the turian.

"Just giving you a heads up. Biotics can go a bit crazy in there. Just be ready to have use more control than usual."

Javik snorted. "The day I need advice from a primitive is the day that I should probably commit ritual suicide."

He headed in while Marcus remarked to Garrus, "Nice guy there. Bet he is great at parties."

Garrus chuckled then followed the prothean inside.

* * *

The view from the upper walkway did not do the crystals justice.

They towered, jagged and intimidating, above them as they hummed and vibrated with shades of blue and white. Javik's biotics started to crackle along his armor before he managed to control it.

Liara was examining some intricate symbols written on the metal that surrounded the base of the crystal structures.

In the very centre of the platform was a raised clear circle. Gaius was scanning it carefully.

"What are you looking at?" Garrus inquired.

Gaius glanced up. "This is the first time we have found a core intact. This piece... " he pointed to the clear circle, "... if you look inside you can see eezo being kept liquified. We didn't expect that."

Garrus looked at him thoughtfully. "What did you expect then?"

Gaius stood up and gazed up at the humming crystals. "I am not sure but it wasn't this."

He activated his omnitool. "Tiberius, can you read me?"

"Go ahead, Gaius."

"I think we should go ahead and activate the device."

"Are you certain? The readings I am getting here are off the charts. These are substantially stronger than Gotha."

"It's not a choice we have unfortunately. We need the information."

They heard Tiberius give a deep sigh.

"Ok, I'll contact the captain for the go ahead."

Gaius hopped off the raised centre and headed out to where his crew stood waiting. "I have asked for permission to activate the device. I need you all to return to the shuttle. In the event of anything going wrong you all know what you are to do."

Gaius turned to a ruddy coloured turian. "Lysander, you are assigned the pilot duties. Once back onboard the shuttle, Tiberius will give you a quick run down on what you need to know then he will join us here."

He turned to Garrus. "I would recommend that you send your crew or at the very least one member back, Vakarian. Once the device activates it can be unpredictable."

Garrus nodded at Javik. "Sorry but I need to keep Liara here. She's an expert at this kind of stuff."

"I do not need apologies for command decisions. I shall see you both on the shuttle."

Javik grabbed his rifle from the corridor and headed back with the rest of the squad.

* * *

Liara was brimming with excitement.

Her passion of history was in full bloom as she cataloged and scanned as much of the central core as possible.

"Any luck on deciphering any of it?"

Liara smiled. "I have had some. I have figured out the language used here. It has analogues in various other languages, including prothean. It must have been recycled by several civilizations."

Gaius snorted. "Not recycled. It was taught so they could understand."

"I don't get it. None survived the earlier cycles, at least not in enough numbers to be able to pass this language on directly. Have you recovered information to the contrary? A VI or database perhaps?"

"Doctor T'Soni, you're going to get the answers to that very soon."

Liara figured out that no more information was forthcoming from the turian so turned to Garrus.

"For the moment the best I have come up with is that this is designed to talk to something. Not entirely sure what but the builders must have been quite determined. This was not an easy thing to build." She gestured to the huge crystal structures. "I can however completely understand why they built this here in this system. With Thessia being so close, it must have been easy to get and transport the eezo required."

"Yeah. I can see your point."

* * *

Gaius leaned back against a crystal, hissed a little with pain and then rubbed his arm.

"You alright?"

He glanced up at Garrus who was walking towards him.

"I'm fine. My biotics are just flaring. The eezo is singing out."

"You're a biotic?"

Gaius stared at him. "There's nothing wrong with that you know."

"I know. It's just turian biotics are rare. I don't think I have even met one."

Gaius laughed. "I guarantee you will never meet biotics like us from any species."

Gaius yanked off a piece of armor at his elbow. He unhitched some of the under-suit to expose the plates. In between the plates themselves, it glowed bright blue. Garrus looked closer at it.

It was eezo seams, tiny but interwoven in the very edges of his plates. Right now they was pulsing with power, almost like veins carrying blood. Gaius closed the undersuit and attempted to attach the armor piece.

"Word of warning for you, Vakarian. When we activate this you might want to step back from the biotics - Tiberius included."

Garrus said nothing but grabbed the elbow cover that Gaius was struggling with and firmly fixed it in place. Gaius nodded at him. "Thanks for that. You need to be aware of something else. They'll take the appearance of the dead."

Garrus looked confused.

Gaius pressed on. "They take their appearance and even their voices but it's not them. It's a ploy they use to gain sympathy."

"Who does this?"

"Parnitha will do as they all do."

"That's not funny. The stars are not sentient beings."

Gaius turned and stared at Liara who was chipping at a loose piece of crystal.

"Says who, Vakarian? I am giving you a warning. Do not fall for their illusions. They will not help us out of the kindness of their hearts. Let me and Tiberius do the talking."

* * *

Tiberius arrived in a flurry of activity.

He and Liara almost immediately became engaged in a long-winded discussion of the meaning of various symbols before Gaius lost his temper and told them to, "Just activate the damn device already!"

Tiberius glared at Gaius. "Some of us here actually want to fully understand what we are dealing with."

"We know what we are dealing with. It's not like we have not done this before. You two can talk all you want once we got the information. Now just activate the damn thing."

Tiberius lifted back one of the symbols on the metal surrounds of the crystals. He revealed a small panel of which he activated a number of switches.

"Alright. Hold on." He hit a final switch.

The eezo shards began to hum with greater frequency. It felt like the very bones inside them shivered in harmony.

Gaius stood back with his biotics flaring, making his black armor shimmer blue. Tiberius's biotics did the same and Liara was finding it hard to control her own.

Tiberius gripped her arm and fed her power surge into his own to take some of the pressure off her.

The crystals continued to hum faster, becoming painful to hear with the entire station quaking.

With no warning the room filled with blinding light, the crystals screaming now with the intense energies being funneled.

The light was blinding...

* * *

_Garrus found himself in a bedroom._

_He looked around._

_It was a young boy's room with sunlight streaming in the window pane._

_A slightly disheveled bed was in one corner with a bedside cabinet that held a couple of little toys; posters hanging on the wall of some cartoon hero and various turian dreadnoughts; and in the middle was a little table where a little turian boy with grey plates sat painting a model ship._

_The little boy turned then looked directly at him with a bruise swelling his left eye shut and blue blood pouring from his broken nose..._

* * *

Almost as suddenly as the image came it disappeared and he was back on the station.

The light began to fade as the screaming died down.

As the light dimmed, Garrus heard Liara gasp. He glanced at what she was looking at then grabbed her hand.

"It's not her, Liara!"

Liara's blue eyes widened in shock.

Gaius turned to him in confusion, "Who do you see?"

Garrus spoke softly, "Matriarch Benezia."


	8. Parnithia

"In the dimness of the shadows  
Where we hairy heathens warred,  
I can taste in thought the lifeblood;  
We used teeth before the sword."  
 _Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

Gaius blinked rapidly as he stared at the being in front of him. "Who do you see again? A Matra-something?" he asked Garrus.

The turian rapidly replied, "Matriarch Benezia. Liara's mother and someone who is supposed to be dead."

Gaius shrugged before he muttered, "No idea about any of that but an asari is certainly not what I see."

Garrus turned to Gaius. "What do you mean?"

The vision spoke, not with one voice but the whispers of billions - a rich cacophony of sound. "They see us as we really are."

This "Benezia" with eyes of pitch focused her horribly empty stare at Gaius. "Hello, Angel of Death. How many souls haunt your steps. How many worlds have trembled at your approach."

Gaius said nothing while Garrus glanced sideways at him.

Benezia switched its empty gaze between Tiberius and Gaius, "You both stepped out of time but we can still find you and the paths you have carved through it."

The vision turned to the group. "We see you all so clearly. A Grandchild of mine; a Grandchild of Trebia; and two who do not belong to any."

Benezia closed its eyes, tilted its head back and seemed to just drink in the moment. "It has been far too long since we were last called. What do you wish of us in this time and place?"

* * *

Tiberius spoke up almost before the avatar had finished her last sentence. "We have traveled far to prevent the cataclysm's arrival. We need your aid."

"We can not aid you in this. The end is far from here under the gaze of another sibling."

"You can help us with information. Did others come here? Others like us - those who have stepped out of time?"

The vision tilted its head."Others... Yes. Bore a device that would burn us all. Sought us to speak. Sought us to use our sight. We would not see them."

Gaius snarled, "How about you tell us where they went then? That's within your ability surely!"

"The Angel is angry with us. Would you bring death to us too?"

"Don't tempt me."

The vision laughed. A billion billion voices all rose as one in a strange misplaced giddiness that left everyone present feeling a deep unease.

The eezo crystals around the core shone even brighter and crackled with energy.

"Full of raging starfire!" Benezia finally said. "One of us indeed. What are you and your brothers and sisters if not our weapons! Our will made manifest!"

Gaius roared, "We're not your tools! We're not things you can just mess around with before sending us off to do your bidding!"

"Everything has a purpose. We have given you yours. Oh but we see... We see what you wish. An end once and for all. Do not fret, little Angel. It shall come to you soon in a new dawn."

Benezia turned and faced Garrus. "You do not understand, Grandchild of Trebia?"

Garrus took a step back, holding on tight to Liara's hand. Liara was still in shock staring at a ghost of her mother.

"Trust me when I answer yes to that."

It smiled at him. This thing clad in a facsimile of a dead woman's body smiled and the black empty eyes lit up with blinding light. "We are the star."

"Stars are not beings..."

"They are."

* * *

Garrus turned to face Gaius.

"I know this is not exactly easy to understand. Hell, it's not like we didn't think we are crazy at the start. But they're alive. Not just alive but able to directly influence events. Their influence extends over distances that are almost impossible to comprehend."

Gaius stepped closer to him.

"Imagine the inside of a star. It's all compressed with atoms stripped of their components and just whizzing around at high-speed. Imagine them instead like neurons of a mind. But they're not in our universe in the same way that we are."

He turned and stared at the shining Benezia.

"They're kinda stuck. Time is not a flowing river in a nice orderly fashion for them. It's more like being engulfed in a pool with you being everywhere all at once. The effort it takes to focus them on one particular place and in one particular time period is mind-boggling. They live their birth, life and death all at once."

Gaius tilted his head as the light slowly faded from the Benezia creature.

"Look, I can't explain this all here. Sidonis is usually way better at it anyway."

* * *

Gaius walked up to the avatar. "Parnitha..."

The avatar fixed its now once more black eyes again on Gaius.

"We both want the same goal so how about you give us the information that we need and then we disappear to do your dirty work like you want us to."

The avatar suddenly grimaced and shuddered. "They're here," she gasped.

"What?!"

"A small breach! A trap left by the others. Left so that if you called us then it would cause a tear. We did not see - our vision corrupted."

"We don't have time for this. Where did the others go?"

"They fled to our sibling, you call them Antaeus."

Tib desperately racked brain before finding the answer he needed. "Got it! That's in Hades Gamma."

Gaius grabbed Garrus by the arm and started to drag him out the door. "We gotta move!" he snapped at the turian when he resisted.

"Wait," called the avatar. "Let me speak to the little soul of Trebia."

Tiberius lifted up the crying Liara and started running with her for the ship which left only Gaius and Garrus behind.

The vision stared intensely at Garrus who cautiously asked, "What do you want with me?"

"He is protected by his first other."

Benezia tilted her head. "Forged in war, tempered with such sorrow and despair. Perhaps, he could be more now if we desired it. If his first others desired it."

The asari smiled with eyes that flashed with the most intense bright light before they returned to the empty black.

"We saw her fall, that Shepard of our Grandchildren. We watched her burn in the cold. We held her till the pieces were fixed and then sent her back as our harbinger, the one who came back to bear out our future."

The avatar's gaze bored through Garrus.

"Every sin should be in its right place but in his nightmares he sees only you."

She looked up suddenly at the mezzanine above.

"Tick tock went the clock and your time is now up."

The avatar vanished.

* * *

Gaius grabbed Garrus by the cowl.

"No more listening to the crazy sun. We run. Now!"

They both bolted as fast as possible out of the central core and back up the stairs to where they originally came in - all the while with Gaius pushing Garrus ahead of him.

Garrus could just see the door where he had seen Tiberius run into with Liara just as he himself had gotten to the last few steps of the stairwell.

He made a final energy sapping push when he was pummeled into the side and sent flying into a wall.

Garrus woke up hazily.

Something that smelt foul was standing not too far from him. His eyes focused and it didn't take even a second before he really wished they hadn't.

A gaping maw ridged with countless teeth was coming towards him filled his vision. He reached for his rifle but it was too far away.

The thing stopped with what must be its snout directly in his face.

The strange creature had a large flat crested head with 8 sunken pupil-less eyes stared at him. It tilted its head then began to sniff the air. After the briefest of pauses, the thing let out a horrible noise - like a scream of a dying animal mixed with metal twisting.

He covered his ear canals to try to stop the noise from deafening him.

It inspired the most terrible fear.

Garrus scanned over the rest of it. The creature stood at least 6 metres high on all fours with two wickedly clawed toes on its feet. It smelt like it was rotting which made a vague sort of sense as it had nothing on it that you could call skin. Bits of the side of its body peeled off at random and spread some sort of goo all over the floor with every movement.

He watched in horror as that goo ate its way through the metal. On its back it had what looked like spiky ridges but as he watched one of those odd structures extended out and turned into a long prehensile appendage with a spike at the end.

It backed up from him and, in almost slow motion, he watched as the spike went to impale him.

* * *

It didn't.

He didn't even realize when Gaius had gotten there, only just that he had. Gaius gripped the spike between his hands, the creature spitting out a corrosive form of salive onto where it was held captive.

That gooey substance then began to melt through his gloves.

The smell of burning metal and flesh caused Garrus's stomach to turn.

Gaius twisted the spike then snapped it off, causing the creature to scream. Mottled green liquid spewed out from the wound and the creature backed off to a safe distance from its attacker.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Gaius roared at Garrus who didn't need to be told twice.

He bolted for the door just as Tiberius came barreling back though. He stopped and watched as Tiberius - without once stopping - biotically charged into the creature from the side and smashed it painfully against the nearest wall.

Gaius threw away his gloves. He clenched his damaged smoking hands into fists then created something like omnitool blades using only his biotics - his armor glowing bright blue in between the joints as he did so.

Tiberius did the same thing with the blades discharging excess energy up his arms, and the two charged in.

They hit the creature hard; Gaius used his momentum and agility to run up along the wall as he used his blade to splice the creature's head in two while Tiberius plunged his into the main body, running underneath Gaius and carving it in half.

The creature's body spilled out in pieces over the floor and began to dissolve itself. Whisps of smoke began to rise as the bits of the Aegrus disappeared.

Garrus didn't know when he had realized what he had been faced with. Perhaps it had been the sheer angry roar of Gaius telling him to get out that made him realize the danger he was in.

Gaius fell to his knees as the pain in his hands nearly overwhelmed him.

Tiberius quickly scanned his friend before he dragged him up and carried him to the waiting shuttle.

* * *

Just as they got to the shuttle door, Tiberius stopped.

"Get him inside. His suit purged the Aegrus contaminants so you can touch him. There's something I need to do!"

He shut the shuttle door and headed back to the station.

Tiberius began to make his way up on to the top of the station itself while the shuttle remained in orbit nearby as the rest of the team watched Tiberius run to the outer maintenance ducts.

He slipped inside and disappeared. They watched in abject horror as the door they had come through became dented as something desperately tried to get out from it.

More had come through.

Suddenly Tiberius emerged at speed from the ducts and began to sprint towards the shuttle.

Lysander swung in low and activated the mass field they had used for docking just as Tiberius leapt at the closed shuttle door.

He became caught in the field just as another Aegrus broke through the outer door of the station.

It charged for Tiberius but fell burning into the depths of Kurinth. As they pulled Tiberius in, they watched the station lose its orbit and descend with a horde of Aegrus now crawling over it.

Tiberius screamed at Lysander to get them out of the atmosphere which he immediately obliged.

The ride back up was rough before they finally saw stars again.

* * *

They were out in the void barely five minutes or so when a massive explosion ripped through the atmosphere.

"I rigged the eezo crystals to detonate. The rip had to be closed otherwise they would have eventually found a way to consume this world. They're able to adapt," Tiberius muttered as he removed his helmet.

He went to Gaius who flinched as Tib examined the damage to his friend's hands.

"Straight to the med bay with you. You'll be lucky if you don't lose a finger."

Gaius laughed. "I've got spares."

After overhearing the conversation, Garrus glanced over at the turian's hands.

He had five fingers.

Tiberius glanced up and noticed where Garrus's gaze had landed.

He quickly covered the injured hands with some gauze.

Once he had Gaius comfortable, he went to sit next to Garrus.

"Listen, I'm going to talk to Sidonis once I get back then I'm sure he will call you in. There are things that cannot be hidden forever."

Tiberius took off his three-fingered glove to show that he had five fingers too.

"It's easy to hide when you have spent your entire life doing it," he murmured sadly.

He avoided directly looking at Garrus as he added, "Wait for Sidonis before asking questions. He will tell you what you need to know. I am way to tired to answer them and Gaius..."

He glanced over at the turian who dozed on the floor next to the wall, full of pain medication, "... Gaius is in no condition to talk about anything other than how pretty the butterflies are."

With that, Tiberius went back and sat beside Gaius on the floor.

His friend leaned his head wearily on his shoulder.

* * *

Back on board the _Ad Astra_ , Sidonis rushed to meet them.

He gently wrapped Gaius's right arm over his neck as he helped him to the main med bay.

Shepard had arrived with him and immediately started to comfort the shocked Liara. They sat her down with some tea but they were none too politely told to leave by Javik who chose to remain with the asari in her time of distress.

Shepard was concerned with the state of Garrus's armor, fearing that he had taken a hit. Garrus led her over to where he could see what was going on in the med bay as she fussed over him.

Through the window they could see Gaius sitting on a trolley while being treated by Mikis while Tiberius and Sidonis were arguing strongly nearby.

Suddenly, Gaius roared something that must have been quite important as the other two stopped their fight and looked to him.

Sidonis went over and placed his hand on Gaius's cheek.

The turian leaned in and then just nodded at him. Sidonis headed out as Mikis continued his work with Tiberius sitting and watching.

"Commander Shepard... Garrus Vakarian... We need to talk."

"We do," Garrus replied curtly.

"My office is not far and we-"

"No. Here is fine."

Garrus's voice boomed in the empty small canteen attached to the main medical bay. He stared intently at Gaius who was flinching at Mikis's touch.

The old turian looked at him uncertainly.

"Sidonis, you can tell us here," Shepard said softly.

He paced back and forth before he finally found the words.

"They're hybrids. Turian-human hybrids. Gaius, Tiberius, the entire crew except for me and two of the engineers. They're bloody better turians then we ever were but they're not quite turian."

* * *

Garrus's mandibles flicked once against his face as Shepard let out a breath she had held.

"Ok. How?" Garrus asked.

"Garrus, you met Parnithia. You know that the stars are not just what we see them to be. Life does not always fit with what we think it is. The stars began to feel the tremors of the Aegrus a long time ago - back when they were young. We learned that from Dholen before its end. They began a plan, a plan that would involve their "grandchildren" as they called us - the life that evolved on planets in orbit of themselves. They began to influence the minds of some of the greatest scientists of the first civilizations. Those worlds constructed stations exactly like the one on Kurinth. Using those devices to focus themselves into particular times, the stars taught them one language so that when those civilizations ventured out into the galaxy they could meet and converse with a common tongue. It also meant that each species could immediately work together on the grand project. The Leviathans nearly ruined the thing with their domination of other species and then the Reapers came along."

Sidonis rubbed his neck. "The stars played a part in that too. They needed the Leviathans gone and influencing an AI would not be that hard for them. It upset their plan but it was a possible future that they had foreseen. They began to deliver pieces of their grand design to each cycle, building on the information given before. It's incredibly hard for them to focus on one time and place so it was a determined effort on their part to do this."

Shepard gaped as she realized what Sidonis was talking about.

"Jesus Christ, you're talking about the Crucible."

Sidonis nodded.

"I am. That device and a lot of other things have been planned for a very long time. Even your resurrection was part of the plan. The reason you live at all is due to the nanites constructed from plans taken from the Mars archives. It didn't have to be specifically a human or even you, Commander. At that was needed was for the nanites to be constructed. Those machines were only built initially so that you could be reborn. Luckily enough, the Illusive Man then sold the rights of a variant of the nanite to a medical company to help pay for your reconstruction. They sold them all across the galaxy to every species."

Sidonis turned and stared at the three turians inside the med bay. "Those nanites are the reason that each generation of them is conceived and born."

Shepard rolled her shoulder. "Ok. What about the Reapers? I mean every species thought that this Crucible was a weapon to kill the Reapers. Even the damn Catalyst was certain of it."

"It seemed to work too, did it not? The problem is that the Crucible is not what anyone thought it was. It's more like a giant computer calculating hybridization. Its purpose was to make a genetic structure so intricate, so complex that it would be impossible for the resulting biological organisms to ever be compromised by the Aegrus. It was designed to scan any two separate biological species, the further apart in genetic coding the better, and hybridize the two. It could have been any two species. The combinations that could have been made from all the species in this galaxy alone are almost countless but when it activated there was only you and two other humans alive within range. It shouldn't have worked but... what happened was that you went into the Citadel with turian genetic material inside your... ahem... reproductive organs."

Sidonis rubbed his eyes. "Spirits, that was awkward even to just word properly let alone say."

"Commander, the moment you stepped within its range on the Citadel, it was scanning, came up with a solution by the time you had reached the AI and then all it needed was to be sent out. You fired it. It was designed to survive data dispersal like that but we think that some flaws in the materials used to build it caused catastrophic structural failure. Not before it fired out a pulse of data unlike any other. It upgraded via the mass relays every nanite within range based on its technology. It effectively rewrote them to only one mission which was turian-human hybridization in its strongest weaponized form but as a side effect ended up wiping out everything with Reaper code. Compatibility issues the techs have told me. We got some evidence to suggest that the Crucible code in fact hijacked the Reapers systems to gain extra broadcasting range and essentially fried them."

* * *

Shepard murmured, "The Catalyst gave me a choice. It gave me three options; to destroy, to control or synthesis."

Sidonis placed his hand on her shoulder. "You made the right choice. If you picked any other than this entire universe would have been doomed. The breach will be made here but if we lose they won't stop at us. The Aegrus won't stop with this galaxy or Andromeda or any other one. Their army would grow into a tidal wave that won't stop until they have consumed every star, every planet and every last piece of biological matter in this entire universe. Then they'll start hammering on the dimensional walls again."

Sidonis turned and stood gazing in at Tiberius, Gaius and Mikis who were laughing and joking.

"They're born, even built, to fight. They were literally forged in the crucible of war to face the darkness that comes. Spirits, are they hated. Humans, turians, asari; hell everybody hated them! They hated what they represented... which to my mind is the unknown. They've spent their lives in hiding. They crush their feet into shoes made for turians; they even squeeze their fingers together so it seems they have three instead of five. I have seen some who had endured having the extra fingers and toes removed surgically. When they were children it was harder for them to understand why they were different. My own boys especially struggled with blatant harassment and abuse. They were not even allowed citizenship which is why a group of us got together and relocated to Omega."

Sidonis turned to Garrus and Shepard. "I was not about to let the Hierarchy use my children as pawns and there were many others that agreed. The Hierarchy had no issues with using them as weapons in their arsenal but refused to allow them the rights of everyone else."

Sidonis took a deep calming breath. "I had thought that I was one of not more than four hundred or so turian-human couples but apparently the Terminus systems hides many secrets. I arrived with couples from Council space, each either about to have or with children. Once we had secured Omega and began the hard work of getting it into a safe haven, more flooded in from the surrounding areas. Ex-mercs, settlers, thousands of them of every profession. I didn't think that there would be as many turians and humans together as that but it's still just a drop in the ocean in comparison to the total populations of humans and turians in the galaxy. I think the approximate percentage some statistician worked out at being 0.03% or something like that."

A particularly loud bout of laughing turned their attention to the medical bay where Tiberius had Mikis in a headlock while Gaius was trying to use an auto-injector with his heavily bandaged hands.

Sidonis sighed then tapped on the window. Gaius sheepishly put it down while Tiberius grinned and kept Mikis in the headlock.

"Sometimes I wonder about them..." He scratched the side of his neck, "So that is it."

Sidonis spun on his heel. He folded his hands behind his back and gazed unflinchingly at them.

"Those silly wonderful dedicated turians here and all over this ship are outcasts for being just that bit different. Tiberius, unfortunately, was right. That secret could not be kept forever. I just... I hope you don't view them differently just because they happen to be-"

Sidonis hummed, seeking the right words.

He was interrupted by Tiberius chuckling to himself as he wandered over to them.

* * *

"How is the patient?"

Tiberius laughed.

"Lantar, he's so out of it with the meds that he's singing that blasted human song. You know the one. Your wife has a lot to answer for just for teaching your boys that thing."

He turned to Garrus and Shepard.

"With the Sidonis boys you were guaranteed only one thing, once drunk they start singing this one song again and again and again."

They could see Gaius inside lying awkwardly on the bed obviously singing out loud. The door opened as a medic headed out and they could hear bits of a tune, "... _and you've got forty-three. Now I got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key_..."

Tiberius shook his head.

"I'm not going back in there until he has sung himself out."

"What did you learn from Parnithia?" Sidonis said with a smile.

Tiberius folded his arms. "They've headed to Antaeus in Hades Gamma."

Sidonis sighed. "Once we get the engine back online we'll head straight there. Commander, you've done what we've asked of you. We would have no problem dropping you off at Earth if you wanted."

Shepard shook her head. "Thanks Sidonis but no. We're going to stay to help you guys out. That's if you will have us..."

Sidonis smiled and nodded before he glanced into the medical bay. Mikis was now attempting to restrain Gaius from swinging his damaged hands around.

"Give me a minute. I better get him out the med bay before he inflicts our best medic with an injury."

Sidonis headed in and they watched him help the grinning Gaius up.

Mikis handed over a datapad and a handful of auto-injectors. Gaius swung his muscled arm over Sidonis's neck and leaned heavily against him.

"...but it was awesome. POW! I totally got the kill."

"I'm very impressed."

Gaius spread his mandibles wide in a cheesy grin as Sidonis helped him over to the table where the others stood.

He heaved himself up shakily to sit on the top.

Tiberius muttered, "I'm afraid that I got the kill on that last one, buddy."

Gaius stuck out his tongue and blew a very human raspberry that had Shepard covering her mouth to hide her smile.

"No way, Tib. I had that son of a bitch under control."

"I was the one who charged that thing into the wall. You, however, were busy having your hands burned off. You could have lost some or all of your damn fingers."

"Baaaaah! That's could have and not actually lost. Daaaaaad! You believe me right?"

Gaius tilted his head with big wide eyes at Sidonis who just smiled.

"Of course I do. Now are you going to behave and let me get you to the cabin to sleep?"

"Yep yep yep!"

* * *

Gaius stood up unsteadily and nearly fell over if Sidonis hadn't pulled him in close.

"Alright, so to the elevator then."

Gaius pouted his lower jaw.

"My room is not that way... I think."

He scratched his head with his free hand in confusion.

His father chuckled. "No but my room is. I have to keep an eye on you tonight. The good doctor gave me a list a mile long along with some more painkillers."

"Ooooooooh! A sleepover and happy drugs! That's how you run your place on weekends, right Tib?"

Tiberius scowled. Gaius scrunched up his face for a moment.

"You know, I miss Lantar and Maximus."

Sidonis gave a sad half-smile at his son.

"I know. I miss them too but they're better off staying where they are."

Gaius nodded.

"We'll see them again once it all really over? Like Mom?"

"Yeah. We will."

Gaius's eyes started to close and he mumbled, "Good. At least we are together anyway." Sidonis patted his back and tried to get him to take a step forward.

Garrus stood up and took a firm grip of Gaius's free arm. "Let me give you a hand getting him upstairs."

Sidonis thanked him eagerly as they forced Gaius forward.

They managed to get him into the elevator without too much trouble.

* * *

Gaius was drifting in and out of sleep. Garrus stared at him, taking in the old scars and dents in his facial plates. Gaius opened his weary eyes and looked at him sleepily.

"You're not so bad. Thought you were always an asshole."

Garrus bit back a smile.

"Glad to hear you don't think too badly of me."

"Nah, you're still an asshole. Just not as much of one as I thought... _I got twenty acres and you've got forty-three_..."

Sidonis stayed quiet on the other side.

Gaius stared at Garrus for a bit longer, his blue eyes unfocused.

Finally he tilted his head and rubbed it off Sidonis who reached up with a free hand and scratched the top of his fringe fondly.

Gaius murmured sleepily, "I wish Sidonis was my real father, not you."

Garrus's eyes widened. The old turian grasped Gaius closer to him then turned to face Garrus.

Gaius started snoring gently.

"Don't say anything. Just help me get him into bed." Sidonis whispered to Garrus who was too much in shock to do anything.

* * *

The door pinged and they dragged the nearly completely unconscious Gaius to the bed. Sidonis pulled back the sheets as Garrus held the sleeping turian upright.

He stared at Gaius, seeing for the first time his own face reflected in the hybrid.

Sidonis glared at him and he realized that he had ignored the old turian's whispered call to put Gaius into the bed.

He helped him lay Gaius down and stood back as Sidonis took over.

He pulled off the under-armor coverings for his feet, revealing his four toes and the heel fifth toe of each foot before he hauled the legs into the bed and covered him up.

Gaius snorted awake for a moment then faded back into sleep muttering, "Smells like you... Dad... smells like home..."

A gentle snoring started up again as Gaius drifted off. Sidonis motioned to Garrus to follow him out into the small living room of his cabin.

He didn't follow immediately. He stood staring at the sleeping hybrid, assessing him in his sleep.

Eventually Sidonis coughed and Garrus reluctantly followed him out. Sidonis slid the door to the bedroom closed before placing the datapad and auto-injectors on a desk.

* * *

They stood for a moment staring at each other.

Garrus's jaw clenched and unclenched as Sidonis rubbed his eyes and went to a small cabinet.

He poured out two glasses of turian brandy and handed one to Garrus.

"It's fairly strong. I've a feeling you're going to need it."

Garrus glared at him.

"Actually, I'm probably going to need it more."

He sat into a chair and motioned Garrus to take a seat.

"This is a long story, Vakarian. It's not a particularly pleasant one either.


	9. Futures Imperfect

 

 

"While in later clearer vision  
I can sense the coppery sweat,  
Feel the pikes grow wet and slippery  
When our Phalanx, Cyrus met."  
 _Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a long time it seemed - well, at least it did to the awkward Sidonis.

His senses were confirmed when it went on so long that eventually the quiet was only interrupted by the absent Shepard who sent Garrus a message concerning why he was still with Sidonis in his rooms.

He responded quickly, tapping out a brief message to say that he would not be down again until later and she should head back to the Normandy. While he did so, Sidonis sipped his brandy before he sat forward in his seat with the glass dangling precariously from his withered fingers.

"Say what you need to say," Lantar muttered when he spotted Garrus's gaze fixed on him.

"That's my son."

Sidonis nodded. "Yes. Yes, he is."

He watched Vakarian mull that answer over in his mind, almost seeing the cogs within Garrus's brain at work before a flurry of words spilled out from his mouth. "That's my hybrid son and you, Lantar Sidonis, have raised him."

"Yes," Lantar replied quickly.

Garrus's breathing increased in pace. "And why is that?"

Sidonis swigged some more brandy - emptying the glass in fact - before he stood painfully upright to take the entire bottle down off the cabinet. He placed it with a loud click on the table. "Might as well have it within easy reach," he said with a vague sad air while he poured another one for himself.

"You haven't answered my question."

Lantar shrugged. "It's not easily answerable."

* * *

Garrus bit his tongue and practically grinded his teeth against each other before he managed to control his anger enough to speak again.

"How about you start from where you're comfortable beginning then?"

Sidonis sank back into his old comfortable chair with a sigh. For a moment he left Garrus's question up in the air while he stared at the glass full of fine turian brandy in his hand.

With a heavy sigh, Lantar finally broke the spell the liquid had on him and spoke. "Fine. Let me lay out the basic facts then. Shepard went into the Crucible, fired it and changed the course of history. The Reapers come to an end and everybody celebrates. Hurrah! The great war of our time is over and we've won. But... she unwittingly creates the hybrids too. And, well, she kinda ends up impregnating herself."

"At the Citadel."

Sidonis's mouth-plates curled in the tiniest of smiles as he watched the familiar look of dawning realization wash over Vakarian's face. "Yes."

Garrus quickly got up on to his feet, placed his hands on his hips - in a gesture that reminded Sidonis strongly of the hybrid passed out in the room beside them -, and paced back and forth over a small area of the floor.

"That means- oh spirits," Vakarian whispered before he came to a complete stop.

"It means that she's pregnant. Nearly two months. Mikis estimates that she'll be ready to give birth in another three."

"Five months in total? That's a turian pregnancy length. I thought humans went for nine."

Lanter nearly burst out laughing at the panic clear as day in Garrus's voice but caught himself just in time.

"I'm not gonna ask how you know about human pregnancy but **he** will be born in about three months. He'll also be the normal size for a turian infant which I've discovered, with Gaius and my own children, is apparently substantially smaller than a human baby. Actually a piece of advice on that - when your own physician starts having panic attacks over how Shepard is going to deliver fringes and all that... please remember she won't even need to reach a standard human full dilation in order to deliver him safely."

Garrus furrowed his brow plates in confusion while Sidonis enjoyed another sip of the liquid that burned his throat pleasantly.

"Trust me when I say that that information will save you and Shepard from a complete nervous breakdown later," Sidonis added before he coughed to clear his throat as a little bit of the brandy slipped down the wrong way.

* * *

Garrus watched the old man sputter and cough until he once more had control of himself.

Sidonis, once able to, continued his story.

"Sorry about that. Right... Where was I... Oh yes. So the Crucible fired; the Citadel collapsed; and the Normandy crashed on a distant world. This is where our times diverge. Hackett found Shepard first."

Vakarian sank back down into his seat. "The Alliance found her..."

"During their treatment of her injuries, the Alliance medics discovered the baby growing within her. Hackett made the call that they needed to keep this and Shepard under wraps for various reasons. It was a time where they could ill afford a panic in the home population and in the fleets. The old Admiral had his own reasons too I'm sure."

"I bet he did," Garrus snarled.

Lantar tilted his head in surprise. "Oh? You don't like the human?"

"I don't appreciate the way he hung Shepard out to dry after that business involving the batarians and their colony - all to protect his Alliance and their involvement in something illegal. He always sent her out to do their dirty work - to clean up their messes with little to nothing in return. I know his type. Plenty of them in the Hierarchy too."

"You won't be surprised then to find out that they did hide her extremely well. Stored her away in a remote facility planet-side while the rest of the galaxy believed she had gone... died most likely."

Garrus leaned forward until his elbows rested on his knees and supported his upper body.

He snapped his head suddenly towards the bedroom door as the bed inside creaked while its occupant moved around. Garrus moved in an attempt to get up to check on Gaius when Sidonis waved at him to sit back down.

"He's always tossing and turning in his sleep. Been that way since he was a child."

Garrus tore his gaze away from the bedroom door. He reached out and picked up the glass of brandy Lantar had poured him and took a sip.

"So... " he half coughed as the liquid caught him off guard by its potency, " ... the Alliance has Shepard."

"Indeed. Eventually you and the rest of the Normandy crew creep back to Council space only to find that she was classified as MIA. From what I've gathered, you go a bit crazy. You start combing the wreckage even though nearly three months had passed by then. After four weeks of turmoil, you end up heavily drinking in some bars on Earth. I imagine to escape your grief. A subject that I'm all too familiar with."

* * *

Sidonis watched as Garrus tilted his head and downed the rest of his drink in one go. He nodded at Vakarian as the other turian reached for the bottle hesitantly.

As Garrus poured himself another glass, Lantar continued his tale.

"I can only relate to you things I've picked up secondhand from other people but it appears you met an old friend - a turian scout from your old military days. Perdita Marius. You end up entering into a "stress relieving" relationship with her and, after only three weeks, you make her pregnant. What you don't know is that Shepard's alive and in fact quite angry at that very moment in time. She was trapped by the people she had trusted in a facility with no contact with any of you. And... there was her baby to think of so she managed to hatch a plan and escaped. She was heavily pregnant when she eventually found you."

Garrus was glassy-eyed as he stared into empty space, letting all the information Lantar imparted sink in.

"She found you a week after Perdita informed you that she was pregnant. In that week, your father apparently made it absolutely clear that your duty was to bring that child into your family which meant that you were going to have to marry her."

Garrus looked up at Sidonis. "Tell me I didn't go through with that! Tell me I just went with Shepard and the baby."

Sidonis grimaced. "Shepard didn't let you. She was hurt, betrayed even. She confided to me once that even, though it was the hardest thing she ever had to do in her personal life, it was also the most necessary. She had lost her trust in you. Shepard didn't blame you as such but she felt that, if things had been the other way around, she would have waited longer before entering into anything vaguely similar with another person. It just screamed to her very human nature that you didn't have the same depth of feeling for her that she had for you. Shepard understood the differences in turians and humans but unfortunately emotions are not logical. They can very rarely be reasoned with. So she left you."

Sidonis took another long swig of his drink before mentally reminding himself to ease off it as his vision started to blur and words started to roll off his tongue unhindered by his brain actively censoring them. "To be perfectly honest, I was as surprised as her at your behavior although I didn't want to say it. Then again, drink has a lot to answer for."

He stared at the amber liquid sloshing in his glass.

* * *

Garrus's shoulders hung low as the weight of all he was hearing pressed hard on him. "How did you and Shepard met again? And how did all that come up in the conversation?"

"Let me continue first. I'm not so far away in the story. So... Shepard was now heavily pregnant, had cast you off so you could go and marry Perdita but she herself had no idea what to do. Hackett had sent people out hunting for her and the child. Shepard was done with the Alliance. You, on the other hand, were desperately trying to help but also attempting to convince her to take you back. She needed to get away from Earth and the Alliance. She needed to get away from you."

Garrus let out a whimper which he quickly stifled.

"As for me, well, I was stuck on Earth with my future wife although I didn't know it then. I'd been on one of the Merc fleets that aided in the last fight. I met this human woman, Kate. She wasn't a fighter, just a civie in London. She'd worked as a violinist but couldn't evac the city fast enough and got caught up in the crossfire. I'd pulled her out from the wreckage of an old building. She clung to me as she had no where else to go. Her family was dead, her home was all but destroyed and she could not find anyone she recognized."

Sidonis smiled as memories surfaced in his inebriated mind. "I was a sucker for her brown eyes. We didn't end up together then. Just two traveling companions really. I made plans for us to get off Earth and head out to Illium or Noveria, whichever relay happened to get fixed first. There were a couple of small transports around and I had some spare credits. That's when I met Shepard. She called in the favor I owed her."

"Favor?"

Lantar's voice wavered a little as he answered. "When she stopped you from killing me. She joined us on a Merc flight to Noveria. The relays took awhile for repairs but business is business and a healthy supply of credits by some vested interests ensured that they'd fixed the relay to Noveria first. After all that, he ended up being born there."

"Gaius..."

"Yep. Born on an ice world with only me and Kate to help Shepard deliver him."

Sidonis became misty eyed. His voice wobbled violently with both joy and a strange sadness as he sighed, "You should have seen him, Vakarian! His first deep breaths... those little mews of indignation as we helped him into the world! And his eyes. Oh spirits, when his eyes first opened and he gazed at his mother."

Sidonis smiled.

"It was worth all the effort getting them to Noveria. Shepard only gave herself a few months of solitude and peace with us before she started to look at her options. She was still a Spectre and now that she was away from Alliance space she had some protection in that. Gaius was a happy, healthy baby and she had help in me and Kate. I owed you a debt too."

* * *

Sidonis stared at the ground.

"I felt in a small way that I was repaying you by making sure that Shepard and Gaius were safe. Jane got access to her accounts, purchased a small and just about workable ship before we headed back to Earth. There she met in secret with the Council - with little Gaius in tow - to the absolute horror of Admiral Hackett when he discovered it. We arrived to find turmoil. Reports were coming in from a host of different sectors that hybrids were being born. Gaius wasn't even the first, he had been beaten to that honor by a few premature births out in the Terminus systems. The Council deemed it 'a troubling development.'"

Sidonis snorted. "Troubling only if you're backwards old-fashioned son of a bitch. There was panic among the delegations of this 'mixing of the species.' Was it the Reapers? Was this another threat to the safety of the galaxy? You know I recall holding Gaius around that time. He was this tiny little baby who was trying to eat the button on my collar and all I could think of was 'Yes, of course you're the most dangerous thing in this galaxy right now.' Kate and I by this time had gotten a lot closer. Shepard decided the best thing was to drop us off on Palaven which I'd intended on settling down on. She needed to introduce you to Gaius anyway. Shepard was not vindictive. She wanted you to have a relationship with him. Perdita however-"

Sidonis let out haggered breath. "She was difficult. When we finally reached Palaven, you had been back for a few months and had married Perdita. She was then about a week or so away from giving birth so Shepard wanted to hold off on you meeting Gaius until you had time to get to know your other son. She had it in her head that it would be respectful to Perdita and her child. You traveled to the spaceport and hammered at the ship door in the early hours of the first morning we had arrived until Shepard gave up and let you in. I still have no idea how you knew we were on Palaven because Shepard sure as hell did not tell you that."

Garrus rubbed his eyes. "Go on," he croaked half-halfheartedly. Garrus was really not sure at all whether he wished to know more or not.

"You came on board. Things were awkward. You were not best pleased to see me there either and that turned into a fight between you two. Gaius started wailing because of the noise and... you just stopped. Stopped moving completely - for a moment, I thought you had stopped breathing too. Shepard led you back into her cabin and introduced you to your son. I've no idea what was said but, when I eventually popped my head in to make sure that Shepard was okay, you were holding Gaius and gripping Shepard tightly by the arm. She was crying."

* * *

Sidonis slumped even more in his chair. "That's how I remember her. When I think of Shepard, I just see that sadness etched on her face. I don't know how she did it, how she carried all that on her shoulders. Well that's not strictly true. I kind of do. It wasn't for her sake that Jane struggled on. It was for Gaius. You both settled on an agreement. Gaius would spend his holidays and any long mission time that Shepard would be gone with you and then the rest with his mom. That was great for you but not for Perdita. Gaius was a threat to her own son's place in the family. She needn't have worried. Your family had very little time for Gaius. Hybrids were treated like the dirt beneath the feet of most people and your family were no different. You ended up having very little time for him too, although it was the same for Hadrian, your other boy. Work for you took a priority. Little boys take these things to heart and Gaius, well, my son has such a soft heart in him."

Vakarian watched the old man stretch out his weary limbs as the story continued to flow. "In the meantime, Kate and I had moved to an area just outside Cipritine. I got a steady job and eventually we married. I even managed to get a hold of some of those nanites from a black marketeer I knew and we started our own family. Gaius still came to visit once or twice a year with Shepard."

The blood nearly froze in Garrus's body as he watch an old but deep pain display itself in Lantar's voice and expression as he moved further into a part of the story he obviously didn't wish to recall.

"When Gaius was six years old, he arrived alone at our door unannounced. His nose had been smashed in, his teeth were actually shaken loose in his mouth and he had blood dried all down the lower part of his face. He even had to breath through his mouth as the damage was that severe to his nose. His left eye was swollen shut but luckily his nanites had taken pressure off so his sight was not damaged. The soles of his feet were rubbed raw. He wouldn't tell us what had happened at the beginning but eventually he said a little of it. Gaius had run all the way from your home to ours - a distance of at least 30 kilometers on his own. Not one fine upstanding turian citizen had tried to help him. His face was in pieces and nobody cared because he was just one of those freaks."

Sidonis dragged a hand over his fringe.

* * *

An image flashed in Gaius's mind.

_A little table where a turian boy sat painting a model ship. His little face creased in concentration before he noticed Garrus's presence. His left eye sealed shut and swollen out of shape, his nose crushed and blood pouring like a waterfall._

* * *

Garrus flinched physically as the image slowly ebbed away. "What had happened to him?"

"Perdita happened to him. She became convinced that Gaius was out to hurt Hadrian. She'd caught them in the yard playing together as boys tend to do and she flipped. Gaius didn't want to get into too much detail - he was only six - but you don't need a verbal description to have an idea of what happened. The state of his face was enough to attest to the violent nature of the attack. We took him to hospital, contacted you and Shepard then we stayed with him. You were quite distressed when you turned up but it was strange. You couldn't bring yourself to comfort him, even touch him at the begining. You just stood there so spirits damn awkwardly according to the nurse on call. Instead you took off for home. I don't know much more other than the fact you never pressed charges against Perdita. The two of you even stayed married. The only thing that really happened was that Gaius never stayed with you again on Palaven."

Garrus stared at the floor, his head clutched in his hands. "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know but it's what happened. Gaius settled it in his mind that you didn't want him as a son and you sort of confirmed it to him about two years later. Shepard went on a routine trip to Illium and took Gaius with her. Nothing fancy from all accounts. Just a standard diplomatic meeting. They had very nearly reached the outskirts of that system when they were attacked by an unidentified ship. Shepard put Gaius into an escape pod and then sent it to Illium. Shepard didn't survive. She died when her ship tore apart."

Garrus's fist clenched tightly around the glass in his hand. In a strange almost automatic motion, he finished his brandy in one gulp then topped it back up. Garrus sat back but covered his trembling mandibles with his right hand in an attempt to conceal his complete shock at that revalation.

Sidonis pressed on. "Gaius was delivered back to Palaven to his named guardian which was you. He didn't even leave the spaceport holding cells. You turned up for all of five minutes, then left. You left your eight year old son alone in a spaceport holding cell after his mother had died in front of him. The next day he was shipped out to Mondala."

Garrus, who was already taking this information badly, frowned. "Mondala? That's an orphanage."

* * *

Sidonis rubbed a hand down his face.

"You'd signed the _Dissolutio Paternitas_. You gave away your rights as his father and he became a ward of the Hierarchy."

Garrus stood up in such a rush that he knocked the small table and nearly sent everything on it flying. "NO! No, now that is a joke! There's no way that I would do that."

"Maybe not you now but it is what the other you did. He got sent away to Mondala where, to no-one's surprise at the time, it was populated almost entirely by hybrids. Some senators in the Hierarchy were not complete fools and saw the potential in them as weapons of war. They made sure that when they could, they would take them from their families and into the Hierarchy's loving care."

Sidonis carefully drew the table back from where Garrus stood towering angrily above it. "That's when I knew I needed to get off Palaven. I needed to get Kate, my boys and Gaius off Palaven to go far away from council space. I founded a group - about 400 or so strong - of parents who still had their kids or whose kids had been taken by the Hierarchy and the Alliance. The Alliance were a lot less... gentle in their treatment of the hybrids and their parents."

Lantar rested his head on his hand. "There were not many of us but we planned well. Gaius was there for seven months before we got him out. We got all the kids out. We piled them into a ship that we paid the crew handsomely to get us to Omega. You know the rest from there. We cleared out Omega, more like us arrived and suddenly we had a thriving community. We became a people of our own."

Garrus sat back down, his rage slowly dying under the sorrow that started to peak its way through. "And Gaius?"

"We adopted him. He took my name although I'd told him many times that he didn't need to. We raised him with our two boys - Lantar and Maximus. He was... no, he is a very loving and devoted son to me and to my wife when she lived. Spirits... he'd terrible night terrors when we first got him free of Mondala. He would be screaming at the top of his voice to the point of his throat going hoarse and always end up drenched in sweat. He never said anything about what he saw but on those nights he would just want to be held. The boy would almost cleave himself to you. Eventually, once he became a bit more secure in his place in our home, they faded away. They, heh... they disappeared not too long after he first found the courage to call Kate, 'Mom', and me, 'Dad.'"

"Sidonis... Hmm. Thank you for taking care of him."

"It wasn't for you that I did it, or even for Shepard. I did it for a little boy who needed us, who needed a family to love him after the one person who really did was taken from him so horribly."

Sidonis leaned forward. "You two did met several times when he was older. He never told me what was said but once he came back and sat with me for a very long time. He told me that he was never so proud as he was right then to be called Lantar Sidonis's son and not Garrus Vakarian's. He wouldn't explain except to say that he loved me very much and that he hoped he made me proud."

* * *

Sidonis placed his glass on the table with a loud click. "But what happened to Gaius is not your fault."

Garrus ignored Lantar's words as he stared down at his feet.

"Every sin has its place."

His head snapped up at that simple phrase and he focused his deep blue eyes at Sidonis. "You've said that before and Parnithia said something similar."

Sidonis hummed. "Did it now? Hmm. It's true whatever the case. You did not commit those things against him and you need to remember that."

Lantar did not shy away from Garrus's gaze. "Gaius doesn't need to know that you are aware of who he is. Shepard doesn't need that knowledge either. She's going to find out soon that she's pregnant and it's better in the long run that she's kept in the dark about who Gaius is. Let us not make the time left any more awkward."

Garrus stilled for a moment as he took in what Lantar meant before he then nodded his agreement. Vakarian put the glass he had been turning over in his hands back on the table. "I want to... I don't know. Maybe I could spend some time with him."

"What will that accomplish?"

Garrus lost his temper. "I don't know! It's something!"

He rubbed his neck and closed his eyes for a second. "Look, I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in and I don't like the thought of not being there for any child of mine."

Sidonis nodded. "It's alright. I understand that this is a shock. You must remember that he's not really your son. That boy is only just growing. I would have been much happier if Gaius had just kept his mouth shut but he's heavily medicated right now. I can't really blame him."

* * *

Garrus stood still and stared at the bedroom door where a constant light snore could be heard.

"He saved my life."

"I know."

"If I was such a horrible parent to him then why would he do that?"

"He doesn't want you dead, Garrus. Seriously hurt maybe but not dead. There's a simple truth that a lot of people miss. A child's victory over their parent is for the most part fleeting but the parent's victory over their child tends to last forever. Deep inside, even as he tries to deny it, a small piece of him wants you to love him, wants you to be proud of him. He has crushed that piece under as much of his negative emotions as he can but it's still there."

Sidonis checked the time and then stood up. "Now I'm afraid our time is up. I need to check on him and give him another shot before I get to sleep myself."

Garrus headed to the door. "I'll be back early tomorrow morning. I'll even bring some breakfast things."

Lantar sighed. "You really don't need to."

"I want to. I won't push it too much, Sidonis, but I want to know him and maybe let him see that I'm not so bad. Maybe let him see that I can be better than what he got."

Sidonis was too tired to argue and merely nodded.

Garrus left, leaving Sidonis rubbing his eyes.

This was going to be a very long few weeks.


	10. Moments of Calm

Hear the rattle of the harness  
Where the Persian darts bounced clear,  
See their chariots wheel in panic  
From the Hoplite's leveled spear.

_Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

When Garrus finally left Sidonis to tend to Gaius in his rooms, the turian found himself stuck in a haze of muddled emotions and thoughts as he made his way back to the Normandy.

After a unnecessarily long and arduous journey, he rejoined Shepard who predictably asked after Gaius.

 _She doesn't know,_ was all Garrus could think while his mouth more sensibly mumbled something about the hybrid being asleep.

Jane smiled warmly at the thought of Gaius actually sleeping. "He deserves some rest," she mused. "You know I don't think that he slept for more than 3 or 4 hours at once when I was on the _Ad Astra_."

Garrus merely hummed in reply as he drew her into his arms and embraced her - all the while careful to not crush her too close.

She gazed up at him with her bright green eyes full of concern. Shepard knew something was wrong. "Are you alright? Has something happened?"

"Nothing. It's just that life's so damn complicated sometimes. And, you know I did come pretty close to dying today."

Shepard lowered her head and pressed her right cheek against his chest. "I know you did. You're always so over-confident about these things." She looked back up with flickers of her good humor lighting up her eyes. "Has it finally hit home with you that death is actually a permanent condition?"

Garrus chuckled. "Says the human who came back from the dead."

"I'm a special case."

He hummed, "That you are."

* * *

Garrus pressed his forehead against hers. "Thank you so very much by the way."

"For what?"

"For choosing me. Although it's not like you had much of a choice to begin with now that I think about it."

Shepard chuckled. "I didn't pick you. If I'd had a choice over who I fell in love with, I definitely would've picked someone who couldn't inspire my body with love filled anaphylactic shock. Although kudos to you on not being allergy inducing."

Garrus stroked her chin playfully and laughed. "I know you're joking so thanks. I'd pick you too."

* * *

He lay awake that the night with Shepard fast asleep and curled in close to him.

Jane had laughed at him as he made sure to not press his body weight against her, instead supporting himself on his arms while she wriggled and contorted beneath him. She eventually had enough of his carefulness and dragged him back down on to her repeatedly and so intently that Garrus eventually just rolled over onto his back and let her take charge.

Shepard in the aftermath had fallen asleep on top of him as the sweat slowly dried off her skin. It didn't take too much maneuvering on Garrus's part to settle her in beside him.

And yet, after all that, he still couldn't sleep.

His mind was torturing him with the child he had seen in the flash of light that signaled Parnitha's arrival on the station.

Every-time he attempted to close his eyes the boy was there, staring at him in that blasted room with such bloody wounds that Garrus couldn't heal.

Finally, Garrus couldn't take it anymore and he slowly untangled himself from Shepard.

He dressed as quietly as he could before he left Jane a quick note as he headed out.

* * *

Garrus quickly discovered he wasn't the only one with sleeping issues.

He brought Tali some dextro tea down in engineering and chatted - well, teased really - for a while. She was still a bit shaken by the past few days but Tali was strong. Garrus had no doubt she'd recover fast enough. The mountain of work she had still ahead of her helped with taking her mind off it.

Shortly after leaving her, Garrus ran into an insomniac Vega sporting eyes popping with bright red veins. The pair traded insults and embellished stories before the marine headed off to sleep with some sedatives prescribed from Chakwas.

Garrus thought about going to the good doctor and getting some for himself but ultimately decided against it.

He would rather be as fully aware of everything as he was now.

* * *

Garrus finally left the safety and familiarity of the Normandy.

As he passed through the docking bay, Garrus couldn't help smiling at the antics of the night-shift engineering crew - the small group joking around with each other while reinforcing the battered looking hull.

From what Garrus could see, they were doing a pretty good job of it already.

Once in the maze of corridors that lay just beyond the bay door, Garrus managed to retrace his steps enough to find his way back to the main mess hall.

It was empty. Not a soul around although considering the time it was to be expected.

Garrus made some coffee before he took a seat next to one of the main view-ports, this particular one with a good view of Kurinth.

The planet turned ever slowly on its axis as it orbited its parent star. Garrus thought of Parnitha, of a sun that lived.

Over the years, Garrus had had to adjust his galactic view a number of times - mostly on the missions with Shepard he realized.

But this one was huge. To understand that a star, a giant nuclear reactor in space, had a consciousness? To realize that they existed in a way completely different to the way the rest of the galaxy did?

It was going to take time to adjust to this new reality.

Garrus nearly jumped out of his plates when his quiet meditations on Parnitha was rudely interrupted by a cup landing on the table with a loud click.

Tiberius took a seat opposite him with a foul smelling coffee that Garrus recognized as being a salarian variety.

"Didn't see you coming in," Garrus said while recovering from the shock

Tiberius waved his hand idly. "No one sees me. That's my profession."

"Oh?"

The hybrid chuckled. "I would be a poor infiltrator, Vakarian, if I couldn't infiltrate."

* * *

Garrus's mouth-plates wrinkled together at corners as he fought back a smile.

"So it was a busy day then," Tib said with raised brow-plates and a look in Garrus's direction as if he knew something of what had been said in Sidonis's rooms.

Garrus replied quickly, "Yes. Not quite what I thought it would be."

His companion took a long sip of his own coffee before he stared at the void separated from them by glass and shielding.

Garrus kept his own gaze firmly locked on the hybrid. "So I hear that you and Gaius have been friends for a long time."

Tib nodded slighly, not moving his eyes away from whatever it was that had their attention. "Yeah. Since we were small. Parents knowing parents and all that."

"You grew up on Omega then?"

"Actually no. I was raised on Palaven. Lived with my dad for years until I was fifteen."

"Why fifteen?"

"Because that's the age when I was refused permission to join the military."

Garrus's browplates raised in surprise. "They refused you?"

"That's a long story. Omega and the hybrid issue had been a long-standing thorn in the Hierarchy's side at that stage. My application was declined for many reasons - political issues included. My father was good at a lot of things but politics was not high on that list. When I was rejected, my father took it as a personal insult to him. We left and headed to Omega. He did a lot of good out there."

"It must have been hard on him... on you," Garrus said quietly.

"Not so much on me. I could at least be who I was on Omega without fear of being picked on. It was worse on my father. I tried my best but I always knew the score. My dad was career military and he had left his home, the place he spent his entire life defending so that I could have something better. So when I was twenty I asked him to go back to Palaven. We fought about it for months before he finally retired there. He still had plenty of friends and family who would welcome him back with open arms but not if I was in tow."

Tiberius's gaze finally left the stars and flickered over to land on Garrus. "He made me promise to come to visit as often as I could and keep in touch - a call twice a week at the least."

"Sounds like you both were close."

"We were but now he's gone. Gaius is probably the only family I have left. Weeell, there's Lantar too but don't tell him that. It would ruin our love/hate dynamic."

* * *

Garrus grinned before he turned his head so he could better view the planet that spun every onwards.

"I had heard a few of the crew calling Lantar 'Father.' He didn't have _that_ many kids, did he?"

Tiberius barked out a laugh. "Spirits no! To be honest, a good chunk of the kids that would turn up on Omega didn't have families or had been dumped there by parents who didn't want them. It became a serious issue."

"Dumped?"

Tib gestured again with his hand. "People get scared, Vakarian. It's what happens. Anyway, Kate - Lantar's wife - suggested something like a boarding school to the ruling council. That way the kids could attend school like all the others and have a secure home at the same time to stay with all that they needed. She became the first headmistress. The kids used to call her 'Mom' and she never discouraged it. She used to tell me that she loved it when they did because it meant that they knew that they had someone they could go to for help. Lantar was always around doing odd jobs - just generally helping out when he wasn't off with the security forces. He sorta fell into the father role. I suppose it all came naturally to them. All the kids that grew up there refer to them as their parents."

"They sound like they were a great couple," Garrus replied with a smile.

Tiberius chuckled. "They were. Lantar and Kate Sidonis pretty much held that place together in the early days. Omega could have failed - had a million chances to in all honesty - but Kate especially refused to let it. She was a strong woman."

"I imagine she was - to put up with Sidonis, I mean."

Tiberius roared out with laughter. "Lantar was a push over when it came to Kate. With the boys, he was strict and kept them in line. With Kate, she could knock him over with her little finger."

* * *

Tiberius leaned back and stretched, letting out a long drawn out yawn at the same time.

"So what keeps you awake, Tiberius?" Garrus chuckled, taking in the hybrid's obvious exhaustion.

"Oh, this and that. Information gathering has its own price to be paid and that's long hours of trawling through crap to get to the good stuff."

"Anything on Antaeus?"

"Nothing yet. I'm hoping the cultists we're after are still having transport issues. They've an old Grav Point engine to travel with and you've seen how much trouble we're having with our one since we arrived here. The experimental drive is far too unstable to be useful."

"Why don't they just detonate it? Surely one spot is the same as any other."

"I've wondered about that too. Still working on an answer. In the mean time, I've to be the eyes and ears of this ship on the rest of the galaxy."

* * *

They stayed chatting amiably until the shift changeover which was announced with the rushing past of several crew, all looking haggard and disheveled as if only just awake.

Just as Tiberius got up to leave, Garrus asked him one last question, "What's Gaius's favorite breakfast? I'm planning on dropping up some food to him to say thanks for saving me yesterday."

Tiberius laughed. "Wow. I think I'll have to save you next time if it means breakfast being delivered instead of fighting for scraps with the varren on this ship. It's brichia. He could eat that stuff all day long. There should be some around here in the kitchen. Good luck with that."

Garrus offered his thanks then quickly messaged Sidonis to see if they were awake.

When he got an affirmative, he headed into the kitchens to find what he needed.

* * *

When Garrus finally reached the cabin, he found Sidonis lounging in his office chair while sipping some tea as he reviewed a datapad.

The object of Garrus's attention was leaning back on the couch with damp cloth over his face. Gaius was obviously still not feeling great.

"Morning, guys." Garrus said as cheerfully as he could while carrying the plate filled with sweet brichia.

Sidonis looked up from his work. "Good morning. You are quite cheerful today."

"Everyday alive is a good day," Garrus quickly replied before slowly approached the prone figure on the couch. "Is he okay?"

Sidonis glanced over at the prone Gaius. "He's fine. The pain medication they use can give painful headaches the day after."

The hybrid eventually moved slowly and sat upright. He dragged the damp cloth off his face. "They're not particularly pleasant. Fantastic when you're in pain but not so much afterwards" he muttered.

He squinted up at Garrus - his eyes red and puffy. "Can I smell brichia?"

Garrus nodded. "Brought some breakfast up for the guy who saved my life yesterday."

The hybrid stood up unsteadily and looked strangely at him. "Hmm. Thanks." Gaius scratched his head. "Wasn't quite expecting that. I mean thanks but there was no need - holy crap that does smell good."

He headed over to the table where Garrus had placed the plate and started looking over the food.

"Don't eat it all in one go. I don't want you getting sick all over my room." warned Sidonis.

Gaius, only half listening - started to pull apart the brichia in large chunks.

He stopped suddenly and glanced at the others. "Sorry. My Mom would kill me for my manners. Do either of you want some?"

Garrus shook his head and Sidonis spoke, "I've already eaten but thank you."

Gaius sat down and started to wolf down the food, his teeth tearing at the dough. Garrus took a seat next to Sidonis. "When do you think we will be jumping to Antaeus?"

"I was actually about to contact Shepard to tell her. The engineers are hopeful that we can make the first jump in about 10 hours."

* * *

Garrus nodded vacantly as his full attention was on the busily eating Gaius.

His hands were still bandaged but he seemed to be using them far better than he had been the day before.

As Garrus stared, he began to spot things he'd not noticed too much before - such as a very definite crack at the edge of the brow plate that covered Gaius's left eye and the, now huge to his eyes, dent in the upper part of the hybrid's nose.

There had obviously been some reconstruction but they hadn't fully repaired it.

Garrus got that vague uncomfortable feeling of someone watching him before he realized that Sidonis was in fact staring at him in the same way that he was at Gaius.

He coughed awkwardly. "So, Gaius... How old are you? I don't think I caught your age..."

Gaius looked up confused. "No one has actually asked. I'm about a year older than Tiberius."

Lantar laughed heartily. "Still not an age. You should take a guess, Garrus."

"I dunno, early 30's."

The hybrid burst out laughing. "I suppose I act like a damn youngster. I'm actually 42."

Garrus' eyes widened in shock. "There's no way you're 42."

Gaius gave a grin before continuing his breakfast.

With no response forthcoming from him. Garrus instead turned to Sidonis. "Tell me that's not true..."

"Oh it's true. When you think about it, I'm heading towards seventy. I think the stress of dealing with certain people who shall not be named helped me look far older than my actual age."

They both heard Gaius give a loud snort. "All lies, Vakarian."

* * *

Sidonis barked out a laugh before he handed Garrus a datapad. "That's for you. I suspect the Commander will be having you step out on most of the missions as her stand in. It has some omnitool codes for relevant personal on the ship."

Garrus took the pad but didn't spare it a glance. He still was in shock at Gaius's age. "You're really 42?"

Gaius stopped munching on his breakfast for a moment. "Well, I could be wrong but my birth record was fairly clear on my birth date," he muttered before he went back to eating.

Sidonis turned and whispered close to Garrus's ear, "He's exactly like you and does not show his age."

Lantar straightened up before he addressed Gaius. "Right, I've work to do and some engineers to harass. Gaius, you make sure that you get to that appointment in an hour with Mikis to see about those hands then you're to work with Garrus for the day."

Gaius looked at Sidonis in shock, the brichia piece he was eating almost falling out of his mouth. "What?!"

"The Commander put in the request nearly two weeks ago at this stage for you to be working with Vakarian. Something about setting an example to the rest of the crew. She has talked to you about that, right?"

"Yeah but I didn't think..."

"Well then this isn't such a surprise! You'll report to the Normandy and Commander Shepard once your appointment with Mikis is over."

Sidonis playfully scratched the top of his son's head as he passed.

"I'll see you later for dinner. Enjoy your day. I look forward to hearing all about it."

Sidonis strode out, smirking to himself as he got in the elevator.

* * *

Gaius put the piece of brichia he was eating back on the plate.

He looked up to Garrus staring at him. The turian gave a rueful smile.

Gaius nearly rolled his eyes. Instead he let out a sigh of resignation. "Well, bollocks. That was unexpected."

"I'm not that bad to work with. I could use a hand getting the armory sorted and get a start with calibrating the-"

"Yeeeaaah, I'll handle the guns and you can do the computer work."

Garrus's right eyebrow raised.

Gaius picked up the leftover brichia and tore a chunk out with his teeth before continuing. "I'm useless at calibration, computers or anything like that. I can jury-rig a gun into doing practically anything but work a computer? Nope."

Garrus's mouth hung open.

He slowly closed it then murmured, "Well that's definitely going to change."

* * *

Three hours later and Gaius was firmly ensconced on the metal floor in the Normandy armory.

Garrus had to admit that Gaius knew his way around weapons.

Most of the work that Shepard had laid out for the two of them were either completed or on the last steps of it.

The time had mostly passed with them in silence with Garrus spending a lot of it watching Gaius and how he worked.

Garrus was fairly certain that some behaviors don't get passed on by genetics but Gaius performed certain tasks in the same way his own father would. Garrus even recognized a few as his own habits.

His logical brain made sure to remind him that he could just be reading a lot into it.

With a heavy heart, he did recognize that Gaius took very much after Lantar with a hefty proportion of how the hybrid worked almost certainly replicated from Sidonis and his own style that Garrus remembered from their time together on Omega.

It was no wonder since he'd come to realize how much Gaius worshiped his adopted father.

That stung. It shouldn't, he knew, but it did. Not that long ago he wouldn't have hesitated to put a bullet in Sidonis's head.

He didn't know what to think any more.

Garrus found himself more and more having to remember Sidonis's words of how this was not _his_ son.

That boy was still growing safe in his mother.

* * *

Garrus's omnitool chimed, breaking the silence with a familiar tune. "Shepard, what do you need?"

"Nothing big but Chakwas just called for me to come down for my results at long last! I was hoping you wanted to join."

Garrus could see out of the corner of his eye that Gaius had stilled. He'd heard that part of the conversation too. "Definitely. When are you going?"

"In about 30 minutes. That should give you time to finish up whatever you're at."

"No problem. I'll meet you there."

He returned to his work and noticed that Gaius was now quite distracted.

Gaius completed the strip down and clean of the last rifle in almost record time then placed it back into its rack.

"I guess I'm done . It's been fun, Vakarian."

"Running off so soon?"

"There's a tone of other stuff I should be doing on my ship - like helping Tiberius for one. I understand Shepard's reasoning behind this but I don't think our crews need an example to help them work together."

He pointed out the armory window at Vega who was teaching a couple of the repair workers some sort of dance. "I think he does a better job anyway."

"Maybe you're right. How about you and the others join me and Shepard for dinner? You, Tib and... Sidonis perhaps? Any day you're free is fine."

Gaius stared blankly at him for a moment before turning the gaze out the window. "That's not a good idea. I'm not a particularly social person despite how I may seem. Thank you however. I'll let Tib and Dad know. I'm sure they'll be in touch."

Garrus deflated a little, his mandibles clicking anxiously. "Just consider it at least. The offer is there."

The turian extended his hand and offered a handshake. Garrus took it. "Thanks for a fun few hours, Vakarian. Be seeing you around."

"You too."

He watched Gaius leave. "Be seeing you real soon." he murmured.

* * *

"You're too soft," Garrus sighed.

"You never minded my softness before."

"You weren't ever pregnant before."

Shepard lay back on the bed and smiled as Garrus caressed her abdomen. They'd been back from the med bay only an hour and it was all just really sinking in.

"You know you can go and find yourself a nice turian girl to have a baby with if you want."

Garrus grinned but didn't look up from his caressing of her belly. "I think it's too late for me to be looking for another woman. One has kinda taken my eye and for quite a long time too."

He pressed his palm down gently on the lower part of her abdomen. "So he's just in here right? I mean I triple checked the scans in the med bay and everything but just... right here?"

Shepard placed her own hand over his. "Yep. Just right there."

Garrus frowned deeply. "Way to soft for my liking. And unprotected. Gonna have to fix that."

"Garrus..."

"I'll make something. You don't mind wearing body armor for the pregnancy do you?"

Shepard pulled his face up to look at her. "I would mind."

"But it's for the baby..."

"I'll go insane. It's only going to be another three months according to Chakwas then he will be out. What will you do then? Make a mini suit of military grade armor for him?"

Shepard immediately regretted saying that as Garrus's face lit up with inspiration. "That's actually a great idea. I should get right on that. I've enough scrap pieces lying around to do it. Hell, if I customize it right it could last him till he's about 5 or 6."

Shepard started to laugh at the absurdity of it all with her abdomen flexing and shaking. Garrus panicked a little and stared at her body with concern. "Are you sure that isn't actually hurting him?"

"The baby's fine. I'm fine and that's how its going to be for the next three months. Humans have had babies since god knows when and I'm certain of the fact that I've the added benefit of several thousand nanites working tirelessly day-in and day-out checking on me and the little guy."

She kissed him softly. "So get over it, bigger guy. I'm gonna be wearing all my soft, squishy and non-armour plated clothes on the ship whether you like it or not."

"You're still banned from missions, Shepard."

Shepard opened her mouth to protest in jest but thought better of it. Garrus was becoming quite upset, his mandibles clicking rapidly against his face.

"Fine. No missions. I'll just oversee from the Normandy."

He gently placed his hand again over her belly. "We could get you back to Earth, or even Palaven? We can drop you off then the rest of us go complete the task with Sidonis. Get you settled somewhere nice for the birth."

"You're worrying too much."

Garrus pulled her close and put their foreheads together. "I would have thought that too when we'd nothing really to lose."

"Nothing? There was a whole galaxy, home-worlds, family... for you anyway."

Garrus cupped her cheek. "And now I'm gonna be expanding that last one. You know I was joking about kids when we were in London. Didn't think your nanites would take that talk to heart."

Shepard smiled. "Its... strange. I never saw myself as a mom. I still can't."

"Same here. Especially the mom part although I'm sure I would look fabulous in one of those asari dresses. I do have a lovely waist or so I've been told."

Shepard laughed before it suddenly ceased, giving way to a heavy sigh as the happiness drained from her face.

"You okay there?"

"I'm fine." Shepard mumbled.

She eventually dragged herself up, ignoring his little tugs on her arms to pull her back, and got off the bed.

She sat on the edge and stared at the empty fish tank. "I should probably get more fish."

Garrus sat beside her and hesitantly reached for her hand. "Yeah. Or maybe you could hold off on your slow genocide of aquatic species for awhile."

Shepard smiled. "Maybe I could."

* * *

There was something in her face that Garrus had never seen too often.

Fear. Jane was afraid.

After a few minutes of silence, Shepard got to her feet and headed for the bathroom.

Garrus initially went to follow after her but ended up being promptly lectured about how pregnancy was not the same as being disabled.

Instead he went and sat back down on the bed and opened his omnitool.

He grinned when he realized that Chakwas had finally sent him copies of the scan images.

Garrus quickly opened the files and sighed.

There he was. The tiny shape just becoming turian.

Garrus could make out the tiny nubs protruding on the back of small head where his fringe would be. Small and delicate looking hands with all their fingers on full display.

It was the face that tugged Garrus's heart mercilessly. It was almost perfect but in miniature with the plates still not formed.

Around this little creature were nanite structures. It was like looking at a space dock with support structures criss-crossing around him.

Constant surveillance is what Chakwas had said. The nanites were constantly checking his genes, his development and his mother's health.

Flicking through the files he found a small video.

Garrus debated whether to wait for Shepard but in the end his curiosity was too great.

He pressed play.

Chakwas had recorded the scan in real-time.

The little infant yawned, blinked his still unseeing eyes and wrinkled his nose. His stubby hands flexed and stretched as his feet curled and kicked out.

Garrus chuckled as the baby let out a sigh from his liquid filled lungs, expelling little particles and completely unprepared nanites that then rushed back inside.

Maybe tonight when he closed his eyes he could see this little boy instead.


	11. Complications

"See the goal grow monthly longer,  
Reaching for the walls of Tyre.  
Hear the crash of tons of granite,  
Smell the quenchless eastern fire."

_Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

The small turian boy sat at the even smaller table in what appeared to be a bedroom as he worked hard at painting a model ship - his tongue poking out from where he clamped it between his mouth plates in concentration.

Garrus, who had watched the child work in silence for a minute or so, coughed to announce himself and then nervously stepped forward.

"Hello there," he greeted.

The little boy turned around and gazed up with wonder at Garrus with largest baby blue eyes he had ever seen. Garrus's heart swelled up to bursting.

This was his son. This was Gaius. He was certain of it.

"Hi! Who are you?" the child answered back innocently. His cheerful face darkened with a slight frown as something struck his young mind. "I'm not sure you are supposed to be here."

Garrus quickly searched for something to say, something that would put Gaius back at ease. "It's alright. I... I've talked to your father and he said it's okay for me to pop in and say hello."

Gaius tilted his head to look at him. He suddenly gave a little shrug. "Well, if Dad said it's okay."

The boy turned back to the model and the small pots of paint spread out haphazardly on the desk.

Garrus got down onto his knees and sat on the floor beside Gaius's chair. "So... what are you doing?" he asked softly.

Gaius turned to him with barely contained excitement - the small paintbrush moving wildly about in his hand as he chirped, "I'm painting a model for Mommy for her birthday! She likes ships so I bought her one."

An even deeper frown than the one before formed on his little face. "I can't paint so well but Dad said he would help." That frown turned into a look of such heart wrenching sadness that Garrus found it hard to not just grab the little boy and hug him until all the hurt all went away. "But my Dad's busy a lot. Perdita says I shouldn't bother him like I do."

He looked so sadly at Garrus. "I try not to though! I really try!"

Garrus reached out with a shaky hand and gently caressed the top of Gaius's head and small fringe.

"I know you do. You just do your very best," he said quietly until Garrus had to stop for a moment, the emotion choking his voice in his throat.

He coughed and hummed before he felt able to continue. "How about I help you for a little while? Would that be okay?"

"Yeah! That would be great!" The little face beamed at him. "Oh... I should get you a paintbrush and a chair."

Gaius bolted off his stool and grabbed another similar one from near the bedside cabinet. He located another brush before he brought them back proudly to Garrus.

They sat beside each, both painting the little pieces and setting them aside to dry.

While his long legs were in a not too comfortable position, Garrus didn't mind as he was more occupied with Gaius's little boy ramblings. The child was eagerly chattering away about all the things that were important to him while Garrus smiled and listened intently.

The mood was instantly spoiled when they heard loud steps approach the room from behind the closed door.

Gaius went quiet and started trembling.

Loud but indistinguishable voices started to talk before suddenly the door burst open.

It filled the room with blinding light.

* * *

Garrus woke up.

He bolted upright violently with his heart racing in his chest. It took him a couple of seconds to realize where he was - the dim blue light of the aquarium slightly disorienting him.

Garrus jolted a little when a soft hand touched his arm. Jane was yawning as she sat up beside him sleepily. "Hey. You okay?"

He rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. "Yeah. Just a nightmare."

Garrus let out a deep sigh as Shepard gently wrapped her arms around him. He promptly lay back down, dragging Jane with him gently before he curled body around her as much as possible.

He eventually fell back to sleep listening to her steady breathing with his arms surrounding her abdomen and clamping it tightly to his body.

* * *

The next morning was a landslide of congratulations and well wishes, all of which stunned Shepard more than Garrus.

The news had spread fast and Shepard suspected that Joker's close relationship with Chakwas had a part to play in that considering that both her and Garrus had yet to tell another soul. Not that she was mad of course.

Tali had offered her congratulations although she expressed some concern over it all before she hugged Jane close and playfully punched Garrus in the arm; Liara had wiped away a few tears before crushing Shepard's upper body to hers in another brutal hug; and then Vega followed after, playfully insisted on calling the baby "Little Lola" before he got the hint from Garrus's growling that it was not exactly parental approved. He instead went with "Little Scar-less."

Kaiden took the news harder than most.

He had always harbored a torch for Shepard, even though she had rebuffed both Liara and himself on the SR1.

And even though Kaiden knew intellectually that he had finally destroyed his chances when they met again on Horizon, inside he always held that hope that she might one day see that the turian, while a great guy, was not right for her.

Now the impossible had happened. The same turian had actually made her pregnant. Kaiden, even with the litany of concerns and conflicted feelings he had over it all, walked up to Garrus and shook his hand. He gave his sincere congratulations to the clearly delighted Shepard before he walked away with his usual swagger dented.

Javik was last to step forward to the couple and was his usual cheery self - mentioning that perhaps all those hormones were not in fact wasted after all.

* * *

The hybrids were unusually quiet.

When Shepard stepped off the Normandy and down into the docking bay, the engineers on call - most of whom she knew by name - watched her carefully but not one worked up the courage to go to her and say congratulations.

Shepard and Garrus spotted Vega in the docking bay and went to him to speak about the ongoing repairs when they noticed the sneaking glances the repair crews were giving them.

Vega noticed their confused faces and gave a wry grin. "They just don't know if you are happy about it, Lola."

Shepard turned to Vega sharply. "Why would they think I'm not?"

"I've spent a lot of time with these guys. They're a pretty laid back bunch but that covers over a lot of complex histories. They've had rough lives, Lola. Take Caius for instance." Vega pointed out a turian with dark colorings with grey eyes.

"Caius had a rough childhood until he finally made it to Omega. His mother was a turian soldier who had a one night thing with a human the night before the battle on Earth. His parents never saw each other again. She would have aborted him but she ended up getting knocked into a coma for a few months. She woke up with Caius being two months old so she felt she'd had to at least send him to Palaven. His mother's parents didn't want him either but kept him on out of some sense of duty. They didn't treat him too unkindly but he never felt loved or accepted. They referred to him as a cousin to anyone who asked. He was one of the lucky ones; most of them got thrown out on the streets. He got to fourteen, stole enough credits to get a place on a ship to Omega and moved on with his life."

Shepard was about to ask more probing questions when, with impeccable timing, Tiberius strode into the docking bay with a large gift wrapped box.

"Ah, just the people I 've been looking for," Tib chuckled as he strode to them with a wide grin. "I've heard that congratulations are in order."

Tiberius put the box down for a moment as he shook Garrus's hand and followed up by tussling Shepard's hair.

"Thanks Tiberius," Shepard mused as she fixed the mess he made.

Tib grinned as he presented her with the gift box. "It's from the crew."

Shepard laughed, "How the hell did you get time to do this?"

"It's nothing big. We just fixed up your old N7 armor. It got finished a couple of days ago but I kept forgetting to deliver it. I would have gotten you something new but not too many gift stores out this way."

Shepard opened the box and was stunned almost into silence by what it contained. "Oh wow. This is... wow."

She pulled out the main chest piece and scanned over it. Fixing up was not quite what they had done to it.

It had been heavily modded to allow for greater range of movement - the joints now as seamless as any of the armor she had seen on the hybrid ship - and now had built-in kinetic shields reinforced with a tiny eezo generator hidden deep within the many folds of armor. Eezo lines contained within sealant ran up the armor in channels and, as Tiberius used his omnitool to turn it on, they pulsed with blue energy.

"Tiberius, this is amazing. Thank you so much."

Tib looked a little sheepish and awkwardly rubbed his arm. "No need for thanks, Shepard. We should be thanking you really."

Jane, to his intense surprise, pulled him into an awkward embrace. Tiberius's face went bright cyan between the plates as he first patted her back before he rested his arms around her shoulders.

Shepard pulled back and wiped away some tears. "Sorry. Hormones."

Tib grinned before he glanced around at the small horde that were approaching. "Best put on a brave face there, Commander. You've got more well wishers."

Shepard looked up to see that Caius and a few others had wandered over.

They too offered their congratulations which she eagerly accepted.

* * *

Vega stood with Garrus further back, letting Shepard do the talking as more joined the conversation.

"Look at them, Scars," he mused.

Garrus replied, "I see them."

"No. I mean really look at them. They're relieved."

Garrus had noticed it, the hybrids turned from being so cautious to having broad smiles and making bad jokes which had Shepard in fits of laughter.

"I can't imagine being them," Vega muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Being hated and feared for just existing. It's rough enough trying to live a good life then to also know that no one wants you to live at all. Even the quarians had it better."

Vega lightly slapped Garrus on the shoulder before he headed over and caught one of the smaller turians in a headlock. He then dragged his captive over to introduce him to Shepard.

Garrus closed eyes and rubbed them - seeing for a moment behind the closed lids a little boy with a broken nose and swollen left eye.

* * *

Garrus glanced at the time before he wandered over where Jane was still surrounded by well-wishers.

He handed the box with her fixed armor to Vega who swore faithfully to bring it inside the Normandy before Garrus gently managed to pry Jane away from the crowd.

They had a meeting to attend and it wouldn't do to be too late.

Tib was walking with them towards the main door of the docking bay when Shepard noticed Gaius in the control room high above. She said a quick goodbye to Tiberius then began a light run to reach the stairs that led up.

Garrus caught her before she reached the bottom flight and chided her softly, "Running up steep stairs while pregnant is not cute."

"Over-protective isn't cute either," Shepard laughed before she stuck her tongue out at Garrus. She still heeded his advice and, instead of the brisk pace she normally would have used, Jane walked up the steps carefully.

Once at the top, she broke into a light job before bursting in the door. She beamed at the unfazed Gaius. "Hey you!"

He turned his head slightly and gave a half-smile. "Hey."

"So did you hear the news?"

He grinned. "I did. Congratulations or commiserations? Which one should I be using?"

Jane burst out laughing, "Congratulations, my friend. Congratulations."

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as he carefully cradled her. Garrus stood in the entry way, watching the pair interacting and immediately noticed how Gaius pressed his face into her hair and took deep lingering breaths.

The hybrid slowly unwound himself from her. "Congratulations then, Mom."

Shepard feigned anger, "I'm not your mother."

Garrus saw a little faint twitch in Gaius's face before he forced it out into a smile. "Oh, I know that. I'm too good-looking and well-behaved to be related to you."

Shepard's broad smile slowly faded at Gaius's words. She began nervously fiddling with her hands.

"Whats the matter, Commander?" Gaius softly asked., noticing the sudden change in mood.

"It's nothing really What's going on up here."

Gaius folded his arms and stared at her. "Shepard, what's wrong. did I say something to upset you?"

Shepard's shoulders drooped and she stared at her feet. "It's not you. Don't think that. I just... I'm not really sure I'll be a good mother."

Garrus and Gaius both stared intently at her.

"You know it's really really strange when you both do that. It's the exact same look," Shepard said after gazing back and forth between them.

Gaius frowned at her. "What makes you doubt that you would be a good mother?"

"I only knew my own until I was 10. I hardly have a lot of experience with mothers and mothering - hell, kids even. I'm more likely to make the child a fantastic soldier. than be a good mom."

"Well, he'll look mostly turian so that soldier part can only be a good thing."

"I wish... heh... I don't know what to do."

Garrus walked over and stood beside her. He slid his arms protectively around her waist, dragging her slightly tighter against him. "You'll do fine. You practically raised Grunt."

"That's a krogan and he was nearly fully grown."

"He's a kid that looks to you for everything."

Shepard leaned her head sideways until it rested against Garrus's chest.

* * *

Gaius rubbed his face then he stared at Shepard.

He obviously came to some sort of decision in his mind when he walked over close and held her shoulders in his bandaged hands.

"I'm going to say this only once. You will be a fantastic mother and you've no reason to worry. Your baby is going to love you so very very much."

He grinned as he added, "In spite of you looking weird."

Shepard burst out laughing. "Are you not going to defend me, Garrus?"

Garrus smirked. "Well you did just tell me off for being overprotective. I think you can handle this by yourself."

Shepard sighed then hit Gaius lightly on his arm. "You've also been pretty absent lately. Busy?"

"Absent huh? I did met you yesterday or has your mind become too addled by thoughts of babies and the like."

"Har har. You met me for barely five minutes and then only to get your orders. How have you been?"

"Okay. Still going. I'm like your twin at the moment - Your far prettier twin of course." He held up his bandaged hands to Shepard who laughed and raised her own.

"At least my hands are nearly fixed," Shepard retorted.

Gaius smiled then turned back to his work.

"I think Sidonis was looking for you." Gaius said with a slight smile. "I've an inkling that we'll be jumping later today and he might have some good news for your ship."

"Any spoilers?"

"Sorry, Shepard. As much as I respect you I still have a healthy fear of my father's wrath," Gaius said with a smirk. "He really wants to tell you himself."

"Thanks Gaius, for everything."

He nodded then went back to work.

They took the hint and headed back out.

* * *

The couple ran into Sidonis at the elevator to the bridge.

"Commander!" Sidonis exclaimed cheerfully as he extended his hand and give Shepard a firm handshake. "I've heard the good news. Congratulations."

Shepard smiled. "Like you and Mikis didn't know."

The old turian dramatically put his hand over his heart and sighed, "You wound me, Shepard, in your belief that I would keep such information from you."

"Sidonis..."

He laughed and turned to Garrus. "Congratulations, Vakarian."

Garrus stared back at him. "Thank you, Sidonis."

The old turian nodded then tilted his head at Shepard. "I believe I may have some good news for you, Commander."

"So Gaius told us."

"You've spoken to Gaius?"

"Yeah. We ran into him down at the docking bay."

"And how was he?"

"Fine I think. He was his usual self."

"Good... good. Hmm." Sidonis hit the elevator pad. "Come with me to the bridge. Tristan has someone for you to meet."

* * *

After a short journey back to the meeting room next to the bridge, Shepard and Garrus were greeted by holo turian form of Tristan alongside with the holo human form of EDI.

"EDI! You're okay!"

EDI seemed to struggle for a moment before the AI finally found the words to reply.

"Hello, Commander. I am afraid that I am not running with optimal performance. Tristan has been most competent with my program restoration, however several key databases have been irreversibly corrupted. I am somewhat slower than before."

Shepard sat back against the table. "What does that mean?"

Tristan answered the question rapidly, "It means that she is not the same as when she left you. I have done the best that I can using what remained of her program within both the physical extension and the main core on-board the Normandy. I am afraid that she has lost a lot of data - the majority relating to her emotional programming."

"Emotional programming?"

Tristan clarified as best he could. "The part of her processes that dealt with emotional connections. I have discovered that she had developed an... intimate relationship with your pilot as well as several strong friendship connections with members of your crew from my reconstruction of her memory. However I was unable to retrieve the relevant adjacent data to reforge those connections as they are no longer in existence."

Shepard's face fell. "Oh god. Joker isn't going to handle that well."

EDI's holo representation was as impassive as when Shepard first knew her as a glowing orb. "Tristan has given me working copies of his own emotion programs. I can once more make those emotional connections but..."

"But what, EDI?"

The AI stalled before answering. "I don't know if I wish to, Commander."

"Oh EDI."

"I have had time on this ship to consider in great detail the consequences of my emotional journey displayed within my memory banks - this time without the lens of feeling distorting it. Following a time of reflection, I feel that it would be better for Mr. Moreau to find a being that is more compatible; perhaps with the same approximate lifespan as his own."

Shepard sighed. "EDI, I don't think Joker would ever be the type to push you into something that you didn't want."

"I understand, Commander. Tristan has allowed me to use the surveillance systems of the Normandy and I have been concerned by certain behaviors exhibited by Jeff."

"EDI, he loves you and that's not going to disappear over night. Maybe you should consider how you feel rather than worry over Joker. If you still have some feelings then just go with it."

The holo flickered and sparked as the AI processed a response. "Commander, that is the source of the issue. I no longer have those emotions. My emotional capacity has been restored and, although I have memories of those times, I no longer have the emotions themselves. I am weary of returning to a similar state as I once was in. I am not sure if I could return to it in spite of what I might desire."

Shepard sighed. She rubbed the back of her neck. "EDI, I would love to have you back on the Normandy. She doesn't work as well as she did when you were on-board. I will talk with Joker about all of this. I promise you that you won't be returning to an awkward situation. Just be open to the possibility of regaining those affections you lost."

EDI nodded. "I shall delay my return until you have spoken with Jeff. I do not wish to distress him."

Shepard smiled. "I know, EDI. I know. What have you been doing in the meantime?"

"I am locked in to a secure isolated system on the _Ad Astra_. Tristan has been most helpful in filling in the gaps in my recorded memory."

"Sounds like you two have gotten along."

"It has been educational to meet another AI with similar thought processes."

Shepard quirked a brow. "Is that right?"

"Commander, I will admit that I, once the emotion programs had been transferred, have begun to experience feelings that I once had initially experienced for Jeff in regards to Tristan. However, Tristan has made it clear that we are incompatible. He has devoted himself to the purpose of this ship and this crew. That it is a quality that I had not expected to see in another AI. He has also strongly encouraged me to renew my relationship with Jeff."

"Oh."

"I am not ready, Commander. Perhaps in time."

Shepard smiled sadly. "Take your time, EDI. I want you back and happy."

"Thank you, Commander."

* * *

After saying their farewells to the AIs, Sidonis escorted them back to the elevator.

"The next jump will be in 6 hours. There was a minor crack discovered in one of the coolant towers. That is taking a bit longer then we hoped to fix."

"If you need a hand, I could free up Tali-" Shepard began to say.

Sidonis immediately stilled and coughed. "Commander, I appreciate the gesture but I could not accept that help."

"Sorry, I just forgot for a moment."

He gripped his hands behind his back. "No need for apologies. We're not completely certain what we will find at Antaeus so it would be wise to make sure your crew is ready for any eventuality."

"My crew will be ready."

"Goodbye, Commander. See you in a few hours."

With those parting words, Sidonis sauntered away.

* * *

Garrus dragged Jane unwillingly back to their cabin.

Shepard had intended on working until the jump but, only two hours in, her energy levels dropped dramatically. She had just finally managed to lose Garrus to the siren call of the Thanix cannon and turned her attention to removing a particularly stubborn scope mod from her rifle.

She woke up with Cortez gently shaking her by the shoulder after she apparently fell asleep on top of the tools at the workstation.

After insisting it was a once-off and that she was fine, she went back to work and fell asleep for the second time.

When Jane woke up she was held securely in Garrus's arms in the elevator as it traveled to the cabin.

Shepard attempted to struggle and complain but Garrus had held fast. It was hard to hold an argument when the other participant refused to join in.

By the time they reached the cabin, she was more worn out then she had been at the start.

Garrus put her gently on the bed and began to remove her shoes only to be stopped by Shepard sleepily muttering, "I can do it. I'm not a child."

He stood back and let her attempt to do it herself - smirking as Jane found she didn't have the energy to even drag herself into a proper upright position.

"Are you done now?" Garrus asked softly.

"No. You can get rid of that smug look on your face."

"Jane," he murmured as he sat down on the bed beside her energy less body. "You just pushed yourself too far today. Aside from the baby, you're still healing from your injuries."

He gently nipped her earlobe, smiling at the goosebumps that rippled across her skin at his touch. "I'm going to get some food for you and then leave you rest. I've only a few things I need to finish up so shouldn't be too long."

Garrus finished removing her shoes and then pulled the sheets up over her. He popped down to the canteen, managed to make a half decent levo meal which Shepard barely ate before he left the rest on the side cabinet for when she woke up.

Shepard passed out quickly once settled snugly in the bed.

Garrus sat for a while beside her watching her sleep as her eyelids twitched and she snored gently.

He pushed some stray hair behind her ear then left her.

* * *

He'd just made it to the canteen on his way to the battery when Garrus was unceremoniously thrown against the tables by a massive impact that shook the very walls and floors.

The entire ship shuddered. After a brief struggle, Garrus managed to drag himself to the windows.

Outside, the docking bay was in disarray with the crew desperately running to steady the Normandy.

He could distantly hear Tristan's voice across the comm system in the docking bay.

"All hands, we have a coolant breach. All relevant engineering personnel to the main engine room. I repeat, this is an emergency. All engineering staff to the main engine room."


	12. Sabotage

Still more clearly as a Roman,  
Can I see the Legion close,  
As our third rank moved in forward  
And the short sword found our foes.  
_Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

Gaius stood with his arms folded across his chest as he and Tiberius watched - from the safety of the observation room - as the engineering crews in their enclosed environmental suits were hard at work sealing up the damaged coolant tower.

The room was still heavily fogged with thick dirty-white clouds of irritating and slightly toxic fumes while the escaped liquid coolant covered the floor like a lake.

"An explosive then. Has to be," muttered Tiberius.

Gaius scrunched up his face at the very thought before he half-snorted back, "We've either a stowaway on-board or a traitor in our midst."

"That last one's incredibly unlikely."

"Still a possibility. It would explain why it has taken so damn long to fix the engine in the first place."

Tib visibly bristled against the implication in what Gaius had said. "The fact is, brother, that the engine's severely damaged from that big jump we took not that long ago! It's not like we can just go and buy replacements parts. The crew have been fabricating from scraps of metal whatever we need. That takes time."

Gaius almost rolled his eyes but thought better of it as Tib would likely tear him a new one over it. Instead, he let out a vague hum as he knocked on the thick pane of glass before them and waved over Jakus, the head engineer, for a private talk.

Jakus was an older turian - one of three non hybrids on the ship - who had run the engineering crews on the _Ad Astra_ with brutal efficiency for over twenty years.

He was also - strangely enough for a turian - the master at practical jokes. Every engineering graduate who passed through his crew left with some of the best practical - and practical joke - experience to be found anywhere in the galaxy.

The old turian shuffled awkwardly in his environmental suit into the small decontamination annex. Once there, he stood with a vague air of annoyance in the cleaning sprays before finally being released out of the containment doors.

"What's the deal then?" Gaius asked once Jakus was out.

The old turian took off his helmet and pointed at the breached side of the coolant tower. "We'd just fixed that blasted thing for a minor breach on the top. I'd informed the captain that it had looked as though someone had used a welding tool to burn through the safety glass."

Jakus looked back forlornly at the tower. "I spend nearly nine hours today fixing that bugger. I go away for an hour and then this happens."

Gaius placed a hand on his shoulder. "Is there anyway that this could have accidentally happened?"

Jakus shrugged. "It was working perfect. If anything I would have expected a breach at the top, not the entire side ripped out. I'd scanned the entire tower for any cracks and it was all perfect."

"What time did you leave this at? Who was in here when you left?"

"I left at around 1500 hours. The only person in here was Trax. I think he left at 1520 because I met him soon after for lunch and an update on the repairs to the Normandy's hull."

"Thanks Jakus. If you come across anything else would you mind filling us in as well as the captain?"

The old turian nodded then put back on the helmet of his suit and went back in to harass his crew.

"We need the surveillance videos and to interview Trax."

Tiberius strode away, "I'm on it."

Gaius mulled over a few things while he stared intently at the damaged tower. Once Jakus had finally reentered the room, Gaius called him on the comm.

"Sorry for interrupting again, Jakus, but how many of your crew will need down time?"

"We've about fifteen suffering from fume inhalation, another three from coolant burns along with some others with smaller injuries. In all, we might lose close to twenty to injuries."

"That's a big problem."

"I know. I'll work something out. The worst are already with the medics."

"Don't kill yourselves either. Get the rest to the med bays as soon as possible. I'm sure the medics can sort something out."

"I know my job, runt! Been doing it for longer than you've been alive! I'm already on it," Jakus retorted with good humor.

Gaius chuckled to himself before he headed back to the bridge. He needed to talk to his father.

* * *

Shepard groaned.

Her thankfully dreamless and deep sleep was rudely interrupted when she was thrown violently from her bed, leaving her sprawled disorientated on the floor with a throbbing headache.

As she was flung, Shepard had hit her head against the side cabinet, almost knocking herself out while spilling the plate of food Garrus had left her all over the floor.

Shepard lay at first stunned before she felt strong enough to sit upright. She was gingerly leaning her back against the bed when she felt something warm coursing down her face. She touched it carefully before pulling her fingers back.

Blood. Lots of it too that turned her pale slim fingers scarlet.

She muttered a few curses under her breath before she dragged herself weakly off the floor.

Jane groaned again as another wave of pain hit her. Her head felt like it was going to explode. "Bathroom first," she mumbled to herself. "Then medical bay."

She'd just reached the bathroom to get a towel when a panicking Garrus burst in.

His heart almost stopped in his chest when he didn't see her but a pool of thick vibrant red blood next to the bed.

"SHEPARD!" he roared.

The relief he felt was indescribable when Shepard softly answered, "No need to shout. I am in here." It was a short-lived feeling indeed when he finally took in the sight of her.

Shepard frowned slightly when she spotted the look on her partner's face. She hadn't glanced in the mirror yet but realized that she must be looking terrible if Garrus's reaction was anything to go by.

"Spirits! What the hell happened?! Right, down to Chakwas now!" Garrus gushed out.

Shepard quickly sought to defuse the situation. "Calm down. Just give me a minute to focus. I'm not feeling particularly great at the moment."

Garrus promptly ignored her. He rushed over even as she spoke and yanked her up into his arms before starting a quick pace to the elevator.

Once inside, he practically punched the console to get the lift moving with a weak Shepard just sighing with resignation and tiredness at his obvious anxiety.

As the elevator descended, Shepard began to feel weaker and weaker - something Garrus immediately noticed.

"Shepard? Shepard! Stay awake!"

"I don't think I can keep my eyes open," she mumbled.

Garrus shuffled her carefully in his grip. "Just try! Look, talk to me! Keep talking to me!"

"About what?" she murmured hazily.

"Tell me... tell me how you're feeling about the baby?"

"Hmm. Happy but not sure."

"Why aren't you sure? You practically saved the galaxy and a baby has you worried? Wait till I tell the guys this," he teased lightly, hoping to spur her to wake up more with indignation.

"I don't think I was supposed to live."

Garrus froze as Shepard's words stomped through his brain. He struggled to think of the right words to say to that.

"What makes you think that?" Garrus finally replied.

Shepard's voice became distant and faint as she mumbled, "Just a hunch. The guys never mentioned me being involved in anything. They all have said about how it's great to finally meet me. I just assumed I'd died a hero and that's why they came all the way to Earth first. They could save me to help them, this hero from the past. I... I don't want to disappoint them. They're a good bunch."

"You won't disappoint. You never have."

Garrus swallowed anxiously then shifted her place in his arms again as the elevator pinged open. He bolted to the med bay.

* * *

Chakwas was waiting for his arrival and quickly directed him to place Shepard carefully on the nearest bed.

The doctor's voice was calm and collected as she asked Shepard, "Commander, can you hear me?"

"Hmm hmm. I can hear you."

"Okay. I need to scan you to see what we're up against so just stay still."

Chakwas scurried away for a moment before returning with a wheeled heavy looking scanner of some sort that she promptly maneuvered to a point over Shepard's head and then slowly down over her body.

"Commander, you've an intra-cranial hemorrhage. I'm going to have keep you here for at least the night."

"That sounds serious, Karin."

"Nothing too major in this day and age." Chakwas grabbed a nearby injector and fiddled with the dose of whatever it contained. "I'm just going to give you a mild sedative, Commander. It'll help you sleep off that terrible headache I know you must be having."

Shepard gave Garrus a weak smile as the doctor gave her the drug. "See you soon," she mumbled before falling asleep.

Garrus almost immediately afterwards pressed the doctor for more information. "How serious is this, doc? What's the treatment?!"

"Garrus, slow down. The Commander's going to be fine. From what I can see, her medical nanites are swarming all over it. I can make out on the scans where the pressure was building up but it's currently decreasing at a rapid pace. The hemorrhage has been completely stopped and it looks like the nanites are even cleaning up the clotted areas. They have it covered. I'm going to keep her in for observation just in case."

Chakwas took a quick look at the state of Garrus's body armor. "You might need to get that cleaned."

Garrus looked down and saw to his horror that it was covered in Shepard's bright red blood that was slowly congealing. He glanced back at Shepard, spotting the sections of her thick red hair that were still wet with blood although the wound near her hairline had now closed.

He let a keening noise out from his throat.

"Garrus..." Chakwas put her hand on his arm. "... I'll clean her up. Go and find out what's happened."

He spun so fast around to her that the good doctor almost jumped in fright.

"The baby?" he gasped. "Is he-"

"The baby is fine. I did check that too. He's fine. A little shaken up maybe by the adrenaline rush his mother received but otherwise perfect."

Garrus blinked before he went to Shepard's side. He held her hand, gazing at her as he fought his unwillingness to leave.

"Garrus, go. Shepard's not going to be able to command right now. It falls to you."

He gently stroked Shepard's face as he point blank ignored the doctor.

"Don't make me force you out, Vakarian," Chakwas snapped at last in her best commanding voice.

Her resolve almost left her as Garrus fixed an ice cold stare on her and snarled back, "I want an update every half hour."

"That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"No. Every half hour. No excuses, Doctor."

Chakwas controlled her urge to retort but though better of it. She nodded.

Garrus gave one last glance at Shepard before he stormed out.

* * *

He walked - more like stomped - past the repair crews who had returned from the engine rooms to move the Normandy properly back onto the suspension fields.

The red blood over his armor and the anger that contorted his face gave them all cause for concern. Not that Garrus noticed it as he stormed past everyone he met in stoney silence until he reached the Ad Astra bridge.

Once there, he immediately spotted Gaius and Sidonis in a deep conversation. They both turned to stare at him and his blood stained armor.

"Vakarian, what's happened?" Lantar quickly asked in surprise.

"Shepard's hurt. What the hell is going on?"

Gaius's face became etched with deep worry. "What do you mean?! Is she okay?!"

Garrus's voice was warbling with rage. "She's fine. She hit her head badly when the Normandy jolted. I've just been practically thrown out of the med bay by our doctor. Now what happened?"

He noticed Sidonis subtly placing a calming hand on Gaius's elbow before he addressed Garrus's question.

"I'm sorry to hear about the Commander. I understand that this is distressing for you."

"You've no fucking idea. So I'm here to find out why this happened - something which you've skillfully avoided so far. For the last time, what's going on?!"

"We suspect we have a saboteur on board."

Garrus frowned. "A saboteur? What's happened to make you believe that?"

Gaius stepped forward to take the lead on the subject. "One of our coolant towers ruptured. We suspect it was a small explosive charge. We're waiting for the engineers to make the rupture safe before we can get in to take better readings."

"Any delay and the traces of explosive could diminish, especially if there's a serious chemical leak."

"Our engineers are taking scans as they work so we can use that data if we need to. The rupture happened at a non-pressure critical point. There was no reason for it to rupture the way it did without outside help."

Garrus pondered before he snapped, "I want in on finding whoever did this."

Gaius opened his mouth to protest when Sidonis spoke, "I agree. You're former C-Sec. We could use a detective on this."

He nodded to Sidonis, watching as Gaius bit back whatever he was going to say before his father intervened. Instead he turned to a crewman that had just arrived with a datapad.

He scanned it briefly, thanked the crewmen then uploaded a copy of it's contents to his omnitool.

Gaius sent the file to Garrus once he had it secured on his device. "Here. It's the list of people who have accessed the engine room since the first incident."

"First incident?"

"That same coolant tower was only just fixed. Our main engineer suspected that a welding tool burned through the containment unit at one of the critical pressure points. They had finished the repairs today and they'd also performed a micro fracture scan of the entire unit. The detailed report is on there too."

"That's more than a hint that someone is sabotaging the ship!"

Gaius flinched. "Look. At the time it was as likely that one of the workers made a handling error. There's constant welding work going on with those units, especially where that minor breach occurred."

Garrus scanned over the file briefly, taking in the more important details before shutting it down. "Let's get to the surveillance videos and this last guy... Trax."

He was about to step away when he was suddenly hauled backwards.

Garrus stared dumbfounded at Gaius who had grabbed his shoulder. "You should change your armor," the hybrid said simply.

Garrus glanced down. The red blood had almost dried and left large patchy stains all over it. "I don't have time to go back to the Normandy. We need to get on top of this so they don't get a second chance."

"Right. Follow me."

* * *

Gaius led him through the labyrinthian hallways until they reached his cabin.

Garrus took the opportunity to have a look around at Gaius's personal space and was surpised at what he saw.

It was practically sterile. While Sidonis's room had been filled with pictures of family and friends, this was empty of such things. Gaius had made no personal impact on the space and left it as purely functional as it could be.

His observation came to a quick end when Gaius called him into the only bedroom. He'd laid out a spare set of armor similar to his own on the seemingly unused bed.

Garrus glanced over the suit. "Thanks but I'm not sure if this will fit. It seems wider."

"The armor'll shrink to fit you. Just get into it and leave your other set over there," Gaius said as he pointed at an empty chair in the corner. "I'll get that set delivered back to the Normandy once it's cleaned. Call me once you're in the suit and I'll show you how to shrink it."

"About the gloves and boots..."

"It's turian-shaped so you shouldn't have a problem. Designed for three fingers and toes not five."

Gaius waved away Garrus's attempts at thanking him and headed out to give the turian privacy to change.

Garrus removed his own armor quickly while he looked around at the room.

It was just as empty as the living space was with very little sign of who lived there if anyone did at all.

A glint of something half hidden behind a couple of carelessly thrown datapads on the side table caught his eye unexpectedly. He quickly put on the new armor which hung loose around him before he reached for the object that caught his interest.

Garrus carefully rotated the small device in his hand.

He knew a holo-imager when he saw one. It must contain some family photos he assumed as he thoughtlessly pressed the only button he figured would activate it.

It flicked and made a low buzz before it displayed the contents saved on it.

The first image was of a beautiful young turian woman he thought at first before he registered the five-fingered hands that lay crossed on her lap.

It was taken on a beach under clear skies. The young woman had smaller than average cream-colored plates with light blue eyes and she wore something vaguely like the outfits Garrus had seen the medics wear on the _Ad Astra -_ a medic then he realized.

It was obvious it'd been taken on a break or just after work as she also had some datapads in a pile beside where she sat demurely on a picnic blanket with some picnic food. She was smiling shyly at the camera, a faint blush tingeing her visible skin.

The picture flicked as the next image cycled through.

Same young woman only this time she sat holding a grey plated little baby hybrid - both seemingly unaware of the camera. The baby was giggling at something while the woman had wide-spread mandibles with her tongue out in jest.

The image flicked again.

It was a group family photo of the Sidonis family. Sidonis and a human woman with brown eyes and brown hair with grey streaks sat in the middle surrounded by family. They held hands and both had bright smiles.

Two hybrids who took strongly after Lantar stood to the left just behind the couple with what were obviously their partners and small children.

To the right was Gaius, who held in his right arm a little boy who looked exactly like him. The little boy was pulling a face while Gaius was sticking his tongue out between his mouth plates with a big grin. He had his left hand in a clearly possessive way around the waist of the small and obviously shy woman who had been in the previous photos. She was smiling warmly.

* * *

"That's Dad's favorite picture of all of us. Says it shows exactly who we all are."

Garrus turned around in surprise as Gaius wandered in. "You were being too quiet," the hybrid added.

"Sorry. I just... I didn't mean to pry at your personal things."

"It's alright."

Gaius took the holo out of Garrus's grasp and smiled faintly at the image displayed before he then put it back where it had been.

"She's a beautiful woman," Garrus said hesitantly.

Gaius looked at him, some emotion seeming to form behind those blue eyes.

"Your wife, I mean," Garrus muttered as he pointed at the still active imager on the table cycling through the images. "Your son's just like you too."

Gaius sighed before he grabbed the collar of the suit Garrus wore and pressed a button. The suit began to shrink.

"She was," the hybrid finally said softly. "And he... he was too much like me. I would have preferred if he had taken after his mother a bit more."

"I'm sorry," Garrus replied. "I didn't know that they were... I'm so sorry."

"You didn't know so you've no need to be. Trust me, the ones who took them from me were far more than sorry at the end."

Gaius stepped forward and adjusted a few bits on the armor Garrus wore. "There. It looks good."

He scanned the clean arm of Garrus's armor and recorded the paint scheme. He then sent the details to the suit and it changed to reflect similar colors.

Garrus was still lost for words with his mandibles fluttered in distress.

Gaius noticed his silence. He awkwardly reached out and placed a hand on Garrus's shoulder. "It's been a long time since that all happened. You don't need to feel bad about not knowing. It's not like you could have."

Garrus choked out, "How long since...?"

"Ten years to the day in another month. Well, in my time at least."

Garrus's voice started a faint underlying shaky hum that was a sure sign of distress. Gaius caught the turian's right mandible and dragged his head up.

"Look I understand that you're a bit emotional right now with Shepard being hurt. You need to pull yourself together."

"Forgive me. This isn't a normal reaction from me. I've just been under a lot of pressure."

The other turian just stared at him then burst out laughing.

"What did I say?"

The hybrid looked at him with something close to warmth in his eyes instead of his usual cold gaze that he seemed to reserve just for Garrus.

"It's nice to know that once in a while there's actual emotions in there instead of just stone. Come on. We've things to do."

* * *

Gaius grabbed a customized rifle from the gun rack next to the door. Garrus watched as Gaius then squeezed his fingers together to fit a three-fingered glove.

"Why do you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Force your hands into those gloves. Surely you could get some to fit your own hands."

Gaius looked down at the gloves. "It's useful to be able to play the part of a good law-abiding member of the Hierarchy. It gets you further than being a freak."

He tilted his head to look at Garrus. "Come on. Tiberius has got the videos and Trax pinned down somewhere."

Gaius tapped out a message on his omni tool and waited for a familiar ping as Tiberius responded shortly afterwards. He quickly scanned the message before he glanced at Garrus.

"So Mr. C-Sec Detective, where do you want to start on this; the vids or Trax?"


	13. Intruder

Once again I feel the anguish  
Of that blistering treeless plain  
When the Parthian showered death bolts,  
And our discipline was in vain.  
 _Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

They started with the surveillance vids which Garrus hoped would give them ample info for use in the subsequent interview with Trax.

The pair found the only free vid room available - a small, cramped and dark spot about midway in the vast ship - which had one entire wall dominated by a vast screen. It currently was busy displaying the footage from the first incident with the tower - that Jakus had subsequently repaired - till the explosion.

Both he and Gaius were hunched forward with keen eyes straining as they painstakingly searched for any discrepancy or clue to what might have occurred.

To their luck, one of the cameras had been placed high over the main door and afforded a good view over most of the main engine room. They ran through the hours of footage from that one first.

On their initial viewing, it all seemed pretty clean.

Trax wanders in at 1420 hours and is clearly visible chatting to Jakus who finishes his own work on the unit at 1451 and then promptly exits after what appeared to be some good-natured teasing of the younger engineer.

No sign of anything out of the ordinary occurred even as Trax passes by on his way out at 1517.

Gaius poured over the footage, looking for any sign of what had happened.

"The preliminary results from the scans taken indicated explosive compounds," he murmured. "There must be something here. That can't have happened by chance."

Garrus gave a cautious and muttered, "You're right," to the hybrid as he rewound the footage.

It started back up from the beginning.

* * *

About ten minutes in, Garrus cast a nervous glance over at Gaius.

The question he had held on the tip of his tongue since that conversation in Gaius's room could no longer be held in.

"So what was her name?"

"Hmm?" said Gaius absentmindedly.

Garrus mumbled his query once more. "Your wife. What was her name?"

The hybrid turned and stared at him. "I... Heh. I haven't been asked that in a very long time."

"Sorry, I don't mean to push you. I just kinda wanted to know more about them."

Gaius fell silent - his mind obviously thinking over what he would say about his family.

Instead of replying, they went back to work in silence.

After an awkward twenty minutes or so, Gaius finally spoke up.

"Her name was Amata. My son was called Gaius too. Gaius John. She liked the name John. Said it meant 'God is gracious'."

Garrus looked over at him cautiously. "It's a good name. Was Amata very religious?"

Gaius smiled to himself while his eyes kept focused on the footage. "We never sorta talked about it. Somethings Ami would keep to herself. I know her grandmother was. Maybe... maybe that's why we never spoke of it. I didn't like her Nonna."

He quickly tapped out a number of commands on a panel before he turned in his seat while a small visual cleaning program started running.

"My wife was a doctor. She lived the "primum non nocere"; the "First, Do No Harm" oath she had sworn when she finally graduated."

He turned back to the screen and continued his scanning of the footage now cleared of light anomalies from the main drive.

"Tib would have you believe that we were not a match, that I've got a 'type' and that Amata didn't fit the bill. I think he was more worried over Ami being hurt and that he'd have to punch my lights out for causing it," Gaius murmured as he smiled wistfully at a memory. "But I adored her from the moment I first saw her."

Th smiled slowly faded as something caught his eye. "I think I have something. Right at this moment there's a glitch... just there! Did you see the small wrench here at this wall?"

* * *

Gaius pointed at a tiny section of the actual screen but it was clear once you noticed it.

A tiny wrench was just visible; half hidden by a support structure. It was there then suddenly it wasn't.

"They altered the feed," muttered Garrus.

"For about six minutes too; from 15:05 to 15:11." Gaius forwarded the footage until the wrench magically reappeared.

"So we know they're not incompetent with computer systems," mused Gaius. He leaned his head on his hand that was upright on the table. "I would imagine they used this time to place a charge but I don't actually see anything on the coolant unit itself after the glitch."

Garrus stared intently then pointed at the screen. "Look right there, for a moment you can see a flicker on the side of the unit. They could've put the explosives on with a stealth shield in place to hide it."

"We need to talk to Trax. If he saw anything or-"

"He could be the guy who did it," Garrus interrupted.

Gaius snorted. "That is incredibly unlikely although I might be surprised. Tib's got Trax in one of the interview rooms on deck fourteen. Just give him a call and he can direct you."

"You're not going?"

Gaius smiled. "I think the ex C-Sec should take my place."

* * *

The light coloured hybrid sat uncomfortably in front of Tiberius and Garrus.

His five-fingered hands drummed an unrecognizable beat on the table as he shifted his gaze nervously between the two impassive faces in front of him.

"Okay, Trax. Let's run this from the beginning. You say you were in the maintenance shafts under the main engine room?"

"Yeah. Jakus would be able to vouch for me. It was my turn on the roster for pulling gunk duty and I just headed straight down to the under-flows."

Tiberius raised an eyebrow. "Gunk duty? Never heard of it."

Trax grinned at Tib's ignorance. "Well, you non-engineers don't know all of the shitty jobs that we've to do down there. The gunk under-flows are where the old inefficient coolant run off. It gets reprocessed but sometimes it can get... messy down there. Large clumps can clog up the flows so once a week someone gets to do the gunk run and break the stuff up."

Trax's face betrayed his disgust of the job.

Garrus watched his face for any tell-tale signs of lying. "So you drew the short straw for this one then, Trax?"

The turian glanced at Garrus nervously. "There's a rota. We all have to do it. Even Jakus has his week."

Garrus smiled. "That seems fair. But I'd imagine - just like this gunk run - that a lot of things go on in the engineering department that no one knows about."

Trax stiffened. "No, sir. Jakus tells everything to the captain and we tell everything to Jakus."

"Oh come on. You expect me to believe that none of you keep secrets, that none of you hide anything from each other."

Trax became angry, his facial plates contorting as he tried to control his indignation. "Look, we're family here and we don't keep secrets. We all depend on each other to survive."

Garrus backed off on that point. "Alright, what happened today then? I mean there's a lot of your "family" hurt and in the med bay now because of this. The last person in there was you."

Trax swallowed. "I've been stuck repairing the Normandy since it docked. The only reason I went into the engine room was because it was my turn for the gunk run. I went in at around 14:00 and was out to have food with Jakus at around 15:20. We ran through some reports and some issues that I noticed that day that I flagged to Jakus for fixing."

Tiberius spoke up, "One second. What issues did you notice?"

Trax turned to the more familiar face with relief. "When you spend all day in one place you can miss problems. I noticed the door was opening and shutting by itself. I just pointed out that the electric current was probably fluctuating again and triggering the door to open."

That simple answer caused both interrogators to lean forward. "When did you notice this?" Tib asked carefully.

"Ahem, it was not that long after I arrived in. I did the gunk run and then, when I got up from the under-flows, the door was closing but no one was there. It's not that big an issue. It's happened a lot."

Tiberius stood up. "Trax, this is important information. What did Jakus say?"

"I think he added it to daily report he sends Sidonis."

Garrus quickly spun around to Tib. "You know what this means."

"Shit," was the hybrid's reply.

"Uh... what did I say?" Trax asked with concern wobbling his voice.

"There's a strong possibility that the door opening by itself was not fault in the system, Trax. It's far more likely that it was the saboteur on board the Ad Astra," Tib replied smoothly.

Trax's brow-plates furrowed. "You mean I was in there when - Spirits!"

"We need to know everything that you noticed from the time you walked in to the time you walked out."

* * *

Garrus, Gaius and Tiberius stood with Sidonis on the bridge.

"So we can safely assume that we've an unwelcome guest aboard," Tib said, efficiently summing up all that they had discovered.

The old turian let out a sigh before he leaned over the galactic map flickering on the terminal.

Tib pressed on with what little he had left to say. "We think the cultists left an infiltrator in orbit around Kurinth who then snuck aboard. But, luckily, we've an idea on how to find them."

Sidonis dragged his grumbling old body back to an upright position. "Go on."

"I think we should use the nanite frequencies."

"Explain what you mean."

Gaius leaned forward and rested his arms on the small table they stood around.

"All credit to Tib and Tristan on this one," he quickly said. "It's quite ingenious. We know the cultists are not going to be a hybrid because of our immunity to the Aegrus. If we move all the non hybrids onto the Normandy - that includes you, Dad - we can use the scanners to search for life forms on board. The nanites and their frequencies always cause us hybrids to turn up as a form of synthetic on the scanners from more... natural life. If we have the non-hybrids centralized then-"

"You'll be able to see any strays," Lantar finished.

"Exactly. They might be using stealth suits but it can't shield them from the scan that Tristan designed. The only problem is if we don't find anything."

Sidonis nodded. "It's a good start and at the very least worth a shot. I'll get in touch with Jakus and Karas. When can we get the scan started?"

"Straight away."

"Alright. Vakarian, you're with me."

Sidonis opened his omnitool and sent out a quick message. "Let's get down to the Normandy so we can get this thing started."

* * *

Garrus doubted he'd ever laughed as much in his life.

He sat with Sidonis, Karas and Jakus in the Normandy mess hall - the trio trading stories and jokes as if they'd been friends all their lives.

When Garrus had first arrived back, he'd immediately checked on Shepard who was still asleep in the med-bay.

Chakwas - in spite of her objections - had kept him informed as he wished.

Shortly afterwards, he'd left his partner to her dreams and in the capable hands of the ship's doctor before joining the discussion at one of the larger tables.

He sipped some turian tea - a type that the others insisted that he try - as the three older turians were telling their own tales of how they ended up on Omega of all places.

* * *

"Well, I think we all know what happened to Lantar." said Jakus with a smirk. "Although I'll admit that Kate was one hell of a looker... for a human of course."

Sidonis merely smiled before sipping his tea. "Why thank you, Jakus. Your wife was very pretty too."

Jakus barked out a laugh. "You're damn right! Prettiest thing on that station!"

The old engineer smirked at Garrus. "Vakarian, I met my wife on Earth after the war. She was a scout for the Alliance. She kicked my ass in cards, took all my money and ended up taking a lot more besides. I eventually took her home with me to Palaven when the relays finally got back up and running. Our kids are pretty great too, little fighters like she was." Jakus smiled then drank deep from his cup. "And she was the prettiest damn thing on that station, Lantar."

Sidonis started laughing.

* * *

Karas, a female turian engineer, sighed. "You must forgive them, Vakarian. They're always like this."

Garrus smiled at her. "How did you end up here, Karas? I bet you have a far more interesting story then the guys here."

She beamed with pride as the other two started to argue that point.

"Do you really want to know?"

"I would love to hear it. I think it'll probably be as epic as the other stories," Garrus said diplomatically when the complaints finally died down.

Karas's old green eyes shimmered in the light. "Well... I was born on Invictus. I grew up there and, like many from my own poor area, joined the Blue Suns once I was old enough. I never actually went for citizenship."

"Really?"

"My parents had died when I was young and although I had people who would have sponsored me, I felt that I wanted to just fly free I guess. I always felt constrained by the way the Hierarchy worked. So I was this young rebellious turian and I disappeared with my unit into the rest of the Terminus systems."

She put down her cup. "I loved it. I had everything that I wanted, I could fight, drink and fuck as much as I wanted. Being so young too, I didn't believe in moderation or any sort of repercussions. I met my husband when I was 26 - just five years before the Reapers came. My merc unit received word of this Alliance scientific crew who'd been sent out to do an initial investigation of the Omega 4 relay for the Alliance. It was an easy job; the scientists could barely hold a gun between them and we'd planned to ransom them back for a tidy sum."

Karas got a far away look in her eyes.

"There was this one scientist, a young man named Jack. He had this shock of brown hair that he could never get under control and these big grey eyes like the storms from back home. He never talked. We would tell him what to do and he would just nod and do it. I used to think that perhaps there was something wrong with him, maybe he had lost his tongue or something but when we checked it, - for a bet by the way - we found it was in place and intact. We did notice that some of his group tended to treat him badly when they were left alone for extended periods in their cells. A couple even actually taunting him to talk."

She took a sip of her tea. "We couldn't figure it out. One day, about a week into their confinement, I got picked to drop off their rations. Just as I opened the cell to throw them in, they actually jumped me. I was complacent, too young and full of myself."

Karas put down the cup again with a sharp click.

"I fought them off and closed the cell door. They started shouting out to Jack to let them out. That's when I realized that he'd escaped out of my sight. He stood there in the corridor staring at me. My left arm was pretty hurt at that stage and my sidearm was just out of reach. He did something I didn't expect and, from the cries of rage from the others, the opposite of what they wanted. He helped me. He helped me pop my arm back into place and actually brought me back my gun. I remember he flushed this bright red and couldn't bring himself to look in my eyes. I gave him another empty cell to himself. If I put him in with the others they would've killed him. After that I made it my business to visit him for an hour each day - just to check on him as I convinced myself. Two weeks into their stay with us, he finally talked. Spirits bless him, he had a stutter."

Karas smiled a bright wide smile that caused her mandibles to flare outwards dramatically.

"The first time he talked since his capture was an attempt to say hello to me. He used to get so angry at himself. He had this immense frustration with his inability to say words without having to struggle. I found him endearing. He was not like anyone else that I had ever met. It was far too easy for me to get attached to him and I - being young and stupid - never realized how much I had until a mere three weeks later. The Alliance deal was slow. They'd a policy of saying that they didn't deal with hostage takers but they usually did once the uproar died down. During the time spent waiting, we picked up an asari maiden who we were delivering back to her mother. We just had to drop her to Omega where she would be picked up and returned to Thessia. An even easier job than the Alliance scientists. We'd a lack of empty cells at the time and she ended up being housed with Jack."

* * *

Karas coughed as she seemed to become a little uncomfortable at the next part.

"She'd never seen a human before. When I did my first patrol by, she was making some pretty heavy, and unwanted, advances. I walked in to find her with her hands down his pants while kissing his neck. Jack was trying to get away from her, his stutter made worse by his anxiety for her to stop. He was not a man capable of being physically violent with people. I just.. heh. I became so damn angry. She was lucky she lived to be honest. I went into a blind rage and I wounded her quite badly. It was Jack that stopped me from killing her. The other mercs just shrugged it off and dragged her to the medical bay. It only mattered that she was living on delivery.

"We sat alone together in his cell for a while. I couldn't find the words. There was just this visceral rush and suddenly I didn't know myself anymore. I tried to say something but the words spilled out all jumbled. He just cupped my cheek with his hand and then he kissed me."

Karas looked up at Garrus.

"So that was it. He was mine from that point on. I arranged for him to escape and got him on a transport back to council space. I thought perhaps he would forget about me and that maybe then I could forget him but he never did. He always wrote, he found ways to sneak to Omega to met me for shore leave and, at one stage, he had about twenty false identities just so he could be with me. He was the one who bought me the medical nanites. He saved up for them for nearly eight months. I was working on getting away from the Blue Suns but getting out is a lot harder than joining up. I was going to have to take my time. Then suddenly the Reapers were here. I lost touch with Jack shortly after Earth had been attacked. He had been there for a scientific conference. I abandoned my unit, stole a small ship from the Blue Suns base that I was on and set a course for Earth. I was just reaching the last relay that would jump me into the Sol system when I finally got a reply to all my urgent messages to him. He was alive and on the Citadel. I wasted no time; I practically dragged him onto my ship and we disappeared. We spent the war hiding in out in remote systems far from the populated areas."

She thoughtfully scratched her chin.

"I'm not ashamed that I didn't fight against the Reapers. Jack would've died - I know that for a certainty. He wasn't a fighter and he would not leave my side. We happened to be not far from Omega when the mass relay was hit by that burst of energy. I ended up pregnant and I believe Sidonis has informed you of how Omega ended up being changed. Jack and I were on Omega already when they all rolled in to town. My two beautiful daughters and my three handsome sons still live there."

Garrus smiled. "A big family then."

Karas laughed. "Oh yes. We had planned only for one more after the first surprise but...we were repeatedly not quite as careful as we should have been. We never regretted it."

Sidonis's omnitool flashed as the long awaited call came in. "Gaius, how did the scan go?"

Gaius's voice boomed in the mess hall. "We have a guest. Only one and they are currently in the closed off starboard section of deck eight."

"Any idea on species?"

"Not yet. There is a lot of static interference since we're still close to Kurnith and Parnitha but it looks like whoever it is actually managed to get a small, almost propulsion-less vessel into that last large hull breach that crosses starboard decks six to nine. Tib's extended the shielding so we can get gravity and some atmosphere in there. We're about to head in."

"Hold up on that. I want Vakarian to go with you."

"Understood."

Jakus sighed. "Well this is gonna slow down that last major repair."

Karas hummed in agreement.

Sidonis turned to Garrus. "You best get a move on."

* * *

When Garrus reached Tiberius and Gaius, they stood at a sealed door covered in warning signs.

They were both fully suited up and indicated with hand-signals even as he arrived that he too should do the same.

Once he was ready, they headed inside with weapons drawn.

The place was a mess.

A massive hole in the side went up into the two floors above and down into another.

The ceilings and floors were in the process of collapsing into each other with large sections bending or hanging down dangerously.

Tiberius wandered into an adjacent room while Gaius holstered his rifle and took a good look around.

Gaius stood with his hands on his hips as Kurinth provided an impressive backdrop to his quiet reflection.

Garrus took a step towards him when suddenly Gaius flicked his gaze to something to his right, instinctively activated his biotics before he was slammed backwards by a shock-wave into an already unstable wall behind him.

Bits of the wreckage flew like shrapnel as the wall collapsed along with what remained of the floor above and crushed Gaius beneath their combined weight.

Garrus was in shock.

Tiberius emerged from the connecting room and charged into a figure that Garrus had barely registered. He was focused on the wreck where Gaius was trapped.

* * *

Tib cracked his knuckles as he smirked within the confines of his helmet.

He dodged an initial flurry of punches before he went low and took the legs out of his opponent.

The intruder hit the floor heavily before flipping up and activating a omnitool blade.

Tiberius, displaying his agility and speed, quickly dodged the first swing; caught the offending arm with the blade then in one quick motion removed the omni tool entirely.

He flipped back out of reach and the two faced each other among the piles of scrap metal.

* * *

Garrus was desperately trying to get the heavy debris off the trapped hybrid.

"GAIUS! Can you hear me? For fuck sake, answer!" He heaved another large piece off the pile.

He grimaced with the muscle strain as he dragged another larger piece off.

He stopped for a moment and panted with the effort.

"Spirits damn it Gaius! Answer me!"

He glanced over to the melee at the other side of the large room.

Tib was incredible to watch. He was fast, dodging attacks while getting in quick jabs before slipping away. The intruder was shaped like a human or asari but the helmet kept him from identifying for definite.

He turned back to the pile.

He caught a brief glimpse of a biotic field just beneath some of the heavier slabs that fell.

He had to get them off him.

* * *

Tiberius ducked under a particular frustrated swing from his opponent.

He found it too easy to keep one step ahead, the problem was keeping the fight away from Garrus in the room who was trying desperately to help get Gaius out from the rubble.

His feet were nimble as he danced away from another desperate lunge from the attacker. " _I could do this all day."_ he mused to himself.

Another lunge and he ducked in with a hit to the lower back.

He skipped away from any retaliation.

Tib was really starting to enjoy this.

The attacker screamed with frustration and charged him.

Tiberius turned and ran vertically up the wall, his four front toes giving him tremendous grip as his powerful leg muscles drove him upwards.

Once he was about half way, he used those same powerful muscles to push himself away from the wall in a back flip to land perfectly behind his opponent.

With lightning quick reflexes he punched the same spot in the lower back before he then once more danced away from a desperate retribution strike.

He smiled to himself as the intruder staggered from the last blow.

He could end this now at any point but this was more fun.

* * *

Garrus continued dragging the slabs until he was pushed back by something emerging.

He backed up quickly and watched as the biotic field expanded, lifting the remaining wreckage up into the air.

The massive pieces of debris began to float away suspended by the field before they were suddenly fired at speed.

They slammed into the saboteur who was in the midst of charging Tiberius again.

Tib himself had leapt backwards out of the way of the incoming pieces of the wreckage.

The room shook from the impact. Garrus looked to the source.

Gaius stood, his body glowing blue out of cracks in his armor but his eyes, his eyes no longer held any trace of colour.

They shone blinding light as the projectiles he sent crushed the unknown assailant into the far sturdier wall.

"Gaius.." Garrus tentatively reached out with his hand.

The hybrid shook his head as if trying to shake something out of it before he let his biotics die down.

He blinked rapidly until finally the light died and he had once more his familiar blue eyes.

He glanced at Garrus and ignored the offered hand. "I'm fine. Tib?"

"I'm here, brother." Tiberius replied as he walked over slowly to his unconscious opponent.

"Grab her. We could use some decent information."

Tiberius thoughtfully scratched his head. "She'll be unlikely to give it without a fight."

Gaius rubbed his fist into his palm.

"We all know how to get information out of these people. Let's not wait around."

 


	14. The Darkness Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N.B!!! Has some brief descriptions of child abuse in this chapter! Nothing too explicit or long winded but please be aware of that!

I remember all the suffering  
Of those arrows in my neck.  
Yet, I stabbed a grinning savage  
As I died upon my back.  
_Through a Glass, Darkly  
General George S Patton, Jnr_

The asari sat morosely in the interrogation room, bruised and battered with dried blood around her nose and mouth - the only marks remaining of her duel with Tiberius.

Gaius looked in through the one-way glass as she sat completely motionlessly staring at a point on the table in front of her.

Tib's voice ebbed through to the front of Gaius's consciousness from where his friend stood beside him. "You want help on this?"

Gaius kept his cold gaze on the prisoner as he replied, "No. It's best I do this myself. You never reallly had the stomach for this particular kind of work."

Tiberius swallowed nervously then nodded. "What do you need then?"

"Free up docking bay 2. Make sure everyone stays away, especially the norms. Keep them especially away from both the bay and the main path to it from here. She's more than likely infectious. Inform Tristan to purge all areas that we pass through."

"Understood."

Gaius cracked his knuckles than clenched his fists before he headed into the room, leaving a slightly queasy Tiberius behind.

As he stepped through the door, the asari turned her eyes to him.

Gaius saw the tell-tale signs of Aegrus infection in them - dark tendrils of a murky green swimming disturbingly in the iris like a parasite.

He smirked. _No guilty conscious necessary then_ , he thought as he stepped forward threateningly.

* * *

Tiberius arrived to docking bay 1 in record time.

Along the way he'd contacted Tristan, informing the AI of Gaius's request as he bolted down the corridors.

He arrived at his destination to find that Shepard was now fully awake and back in command.

She stood in the shadow of the Normandy chatting with ease with the three older turians that were just about to take their leave.

"No point in saying your goodbyes," Tiberius shouted out as he walked towards the small group. "In fact, it would be best if you all remained here for the time being."

"What do you mean?" asked Sidonis as he folded his arms and Garrus raised a brow-plate.

"Gaius's interrogating the prisoner."

All three of the older turians grimaced simultaneously.

Jakas coughed before he turned to Shepard and said carefully, "Commander, why don't we get some lunch? It's best that we stay out of hearing range."

Karas muttered in agreement with her old friend, her eyes half closed and troubled.

Only Lantar hadn't moved.

He glared at Tiberius who avoided the gaze. "So..." he said carefully, "... you left him deal with it alone?"

"You know Gaius. He, of all people, doesn't need help with this sort of thing."

"No. He doesn't need assistance but he does need someone to rein him in. You remember what happened the last time you just went along with his plans."

Tiberius snorted. "That was something else entirely and they more than deserved it. I know you've never agreed with what happened but tough shit. It did happen."

Sidonis snarled and grabbed the younger turian by the cowl and practically slammed him into the Normandy's hull.

"You listen to me, Tiberius Victus!" Sidonis roared. "You and my son killed an entire world! You both put every last man, woman and child to the torch. Do you think that I'll ever accept that it was necessary?!"

Tiberius broke Sidonis's grasp on his cowl and shoved him backwards.

"FUCK YOU, LANTAR! You didn't see what we saw down there! You stand there judging us for a choice we made but you never had to look at what _they_ did, what they did even to your own fucking GRANDCHILD!" Tiberius screamed back at Sidonis, rage burning through him.

The two were practically at the point of an all out brawl.

Jakus grabbed his captain and pulled him back while Garrus stood in front of Tiberius.

"Stand down! You're not god-damn children!" Shepard's voice barked out as it broke through the angry yelling and shouting.

She spoke in low but commanding tones to Sidonis. "Get inside with Jakus and Karas. I'll talk to you later."

Once they had left and re-boarded the Normandy, Shepard stood with her arms folded across her chest as she stared at Tib.

"We need to talk right now, Tiberius," she said in calm and measured tones.

Garrus left the spot where he'd prevented Tib from pressing forward with his argument with Sidonis.

He walked to Shepard's side and stood with her as they watched Tib adjust his armor and start a slow pace across a short section of floor.

* * *

Shepard tilted her head at him, taking in the whole gambit of emotions that his body language sent her way.

He was tense, angry and likely prone to snapping if she pressed too hard too soon.

Shepard decided probably start on relatively light subjects she thought.

"Victus huh? Not quite a common name."

He refused to meet her gaze. "Yeah? What about it?"

She took a chance.

"Nothing. Your father... he doesn't seem like the type to take to humans that way and, after what happened with Tarquin-"

She stopped when she spotted Tiberius visibly bristling against the direction she was taking the conversation.

"He wasn't. It was a one night thing after drinking a bar dry on Earth. My mother had her own issues to deal with. She left me with him. Every chance she could she would send a gift and letters. He sent her pictures of me on my birthday every year," Tib snapped as he steadfastly refused to look at them.

Shepard coughed. "I knew your brother, Tarquin. He was a good man. I know that-"

He interrupted sharply, "Commander, I appreciate that you're trying to be kind but you really don't need to. My father told me enough about my brother. It was bad enough growing up in the bloody shadow of a dead man then for you to start reminding me of how I'm still the lesser son."

"Tiberius, I didn't mean it like that."

Tib rubbed the sides of his temples while still refusing to meet Garrus's and Shepard's gaze.

"I'm sorry for being touchy on the subject of my family."

He turned and faced them, his hands folded behind his back with his yellow eyes steely with determination.

Shepard wondered how she'd not seen that honorable turian she first met on Menae in him before.

"Understand that I loved my father very much and we were close but that doesn't mean we were perfect."

"Why is Sidonis worried about Gaius?" Garrus's voice was soft but his question resonated as though he'd shouted it in the docking bay.

Tiberius let out a small sigh. "Gaius can lose himself in his rage. He never used to be like this but something terrible happened that changed him."

"When his wife and son were killed. How does that relate to an entire planet being destroyed?"

Tiberius stared at him, his eyes wide. "How do you know about that?!"

"He told me. Not a lot but I know they're not living."

Tiberius took up his pacing again. "There's a lot that you don't know then."

Tiberius rubbed his neck. "Not my place for damn sure to inform you. Gaius can tell you if he feels it's right."

The hybrid glanced at the door leading to docking bay 2. "He gets angry. That's all you need to know."

His mandibles flicked against his face, making a distinct clicking sound.

"I've to go and find him. Sidonis was right. I shouldn't have left him do this alone. I just... I don't have the same coolness that he's got for this type of work. At least not always."

Shepard took a step towards him. "What the hell is he doing?""

Tiberius just stared at her for a moment before he replied as he strolled away, "You don't want to know."

* * *

A tremendously loud bang and the most god awful screaming from the neighboring docking bay got their attention.

Tiberius - finding himself passed easily by the couple who rushed to the doors adjoining the next room - quickly attempted to stop them.

The initial bang was loud enough to alert Sidonis and the others on the Normandy who rushed out to join Shepard and Garrus at the doors connecting to docking bay 2.

Garrus managed to hack the panel to the side before Tib arrived to stop him

The heavy blast doors opened slowly as they revealed a bloody and beaten asari whose blood pooled in a strange mix of red and green that bubbled on the floor.

Gaius paced in front of her, his armor splattered with red and green. "Tell me the truth, Vima, and I'll make your end quick."

He turned to the audience he now had. "What the hell are you lot doing here? Get out! She's infectious!"

Shepard tried to step closer and was stopped by a mass field.

As she tentatively touched the shining field, Tristan spoke across the comms - his voice tinged with static as he said, "I activated containment procedures once General Vakarian hacked the door. A necessary precaution."

Gaius grunted. He turned back to the cowering asari. "Speak up. You were about to tell me what I want to know."

The asari started crying. "Please sir! I don't know what you're on about."

Gaius stared at her for a moment then struck her with the back of his hand, breaking her nose in the process.

Vima stood up with her nose bleeding.

Her demeanor changed from innocent victim to snarling assailant as she biotically charged at Gaius.

Their biotics clashed and the light that came with it... the light was blinding.

* * *

As it receded, they found themselves in an alien landscape.

They stood in old woodland with old creaking silver tinged trees shaking in a light breeze.

The ground beneath their feet distorted by the thick roots burrowing in to the soft loamy soil and carpeted by silver leaves and petals of many different colours.

"This is Palaven!" exclaimed Jakus.

Happy voices full of laughter and cheer caught their attention and drew their attention to a pair of young boys racing towards them.

The bright sunlight dappled the ground and the children as they chased each other among the tree trunks.

They were obviously brothers, both with light grey plates and bright blue eyes.

"Gaius.." whispered Sidonis.

Garrus's mandibles flickered against his face as he watched his "sons" chasing each other - the obvious differences between the children now clearly apparent.

Gaius's feet were bare, displaying his four toes along with his strong musculature which gave him a distinct advantage over the normal turian boy chasing him.

His brother was struggling to keep the pace but Gaius, realizing the effort his brother was having to go through to reach him, deliberately slowed just enough to let him catch up.

They tumbled to the ground, giggling as they collided.

"Ha! Got you, big brother.!" The little turian boy beamed with his mandibles whirling happily.

Gaius grinned. "You got me, Hadrian."

They sat on the ground with their legs all entangled.

Hadrian lifted up one of Gaius's feet and started moving the toes. "I like your feet." he chirped.

They lay side by side and looked up through the forest canopy.

"Hey Gaius?"

"Yeah?"

"You're gonna stay this time right? I don't like it when you go away."

Gaius's little face became thoughtful. "I gotta go and stay with Mommy but I'll be back."

Hadrian turned on to his side facing his brother. "I'm always lonely when you go."

Gaius tried to a give a reassuring smile to his brother. "Hey, you know next time I visit it'll be your birthday. Then you'll be my age!"

Hadrian grinned. He jumped on to his brother and started play fighting once more.

Gaius pushed him back of him giggling. Hadrian stumbled then accidentally hit his nose on a stray root.

"Oww."

Gaius rushed over. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!"

Hadrian nodded.

He took away his hand to reveal a tiny cut just inside the nostril. "It's not too bad."

They both froze as they heard a woman's voice screaming for Hadrian.

Gaius started trembling.

Hadrian looked at him with fear and desperation. "I'll tell her I fell! I'll make her leave you alone!" he said as little voice warbled violently.

They saw a shaky figure making it's way into the woods to them.

* * *

A pretty turian woman stumbled into the small clearing where the boys stood shaking.

She was obviously drunk, her voice slurred and she was finding it hard to stay upright.

Garrus was the only one who recognized her immediately even though he hadn't seen her in years.

 _Perdita Marius_ , he thought as she stepped ever closer.

"Hadrian, come here! I've called you for ages!"

Hadrian sat up slowly, his little legs a shaking as he stepped over to his mother.

She squinted her eyes to look at him then suddenly gripped him hard by his right mandible.

"OWW! Mommy, that hurts!"

She ignored him and stared at the faint trickle of blood that ran down from his nose.

"What happened to you?! Was it that little freak?" she spat out with venom.

* * *

Sidonis started snarling while Tiberius clenched his fists - those yellow eyes focused with such hate on the woman.

* * *

Gaius opened his mouth to deny the allegation when he grimaced hard as she grabbed him violently by his fringe.

She lifted him off the ground with the boy squealing in pain.

"I knew you were trouble the day your whore of a mother turned back up. Your father's only part of your life because he's so damn honorable."

She dragged Gaius through the forest, his little body twisting and shivering uncontrollably as tears burned out of his eyes.

Hadrian ran after her, screaming hysterically for his mother to leave his brother alone.

She continued her pace - ignoring her son who was crying and trying to stall her as best he could.

Perdita walked back through a large well-kept garden to a large turian house.

She dragged him into a small annex to the main building and into a room that Garrus recognized too - to his dawning horror.

It was the small bedroom he saw in his dreams.

She closed the door on her terrified little boy that followed after. Hadrian however kept up his desperate pleas to her through the door.

Perdita practically threw Gaius into the middle of the room, almost laughing as he desperately scrambled to his feet.

"You little freaks make me sick."

She stumbled over to Gaius who was clearly terrified and had backed up against the wall.

She made to strike him - hand raised and ready - but stopped.

A strange and deeply disturbing look crossed her almost drunken face.

Gaius - as uncomfortable as the watchers with what he was seeing - tried to move further away but was caught by his hands and held against the wall.

"I wonder... I always wanted to know if you have the same... bits... as regular turians," Perdita rumbled softly as she drunkenly shoved her hand down his pants.

* * *

It was obvious what she was doing.

Karas had to look away as Jakus placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

Shepard closed her eyes while Sidonis clenched his fists so hard that he left deep marks in his palms.

Garrus - in uncontrollable shock followed by rage - went for her but stopped when Tiberius blocked him. "This isn't happening now. This is the past. You can't do anything."

Instead they all had to watch as the young Gaius struggled hard, his eyes wide in panic as he screamed at her to stop... to stop hurting him.

He eventually freed one of his hands and struck her in fear and pain.

It seemed to knock some sense back into her as Perdita stepped back in surprise.

He tried to scramble under the bed but was caught and dragged out by the now enraged turian.

She threw him on to the bed where he lay crying.

"Oh stop it. It wasn't that bad," she muttered.

Gaius sat up and tried to talk through desperate hiccuping gulps of air. "You... hicc... shouldn't... hicc... have... done that. It's wrong!"

"Look at you, wailing and blubbering like a little human." The turian sniffed and steadied herself with the table. "It's not like anyone is going to believe you anyway."

Gaius was trying desperately to stop crying but couldn't.

* * *

In a fit of pure rage at the child unable to stop his tears, Perdita grabbed what was closest to hand which was a little model ship half-finished and struck Gaius hard across the side of the head.

The model shattered into fragments.

The little boy was knocked to the floor and lay motionless with blue blood pooling around his head that was pressed face down into the floor.

The female took step back then another. "Oh spirits... He'll kill me. He'll absolutely kill me!" she murmured.

She turned and ran out of the room. They heard her distantly rush out one of the doors.

Sidonis knelt beside the prone figure of the young Gaius. "Oh my poor dear boy."

He reached out to stroke his head but his hand went straight through.

Garrus had to turn away, his entire body shaking in rage.

Shepard placed her hand on his arm, surprised when he looked back at her with such deep sadness.

The moment ended when the door to the bedroom opened. Hadrian rushed and made a beeline straight to his brother.

He turned him over to reveal the extent of the damage to Gaius's face.

His left eye was swelling badly, his nose almost completely distorted and blood everywhere.

"Wake up! Please wake up!" he wailed.

Slowly Gaius's hand twitched followed shortly after by his eyelids. Eventually he emerged from the unconsciousness he'd been in since the blow to the head.

He was completely out of it however.

Gaius carefully sat up then promptly got sick all over the floor. Hadrian ran and grabbed a towel before he tried to clean his brother's face.

"You gotta go!"

Gaius murmured, "Huh?"

"You gotta get out of here! I heard Mommy talking to her scary cousin in the back garden. He's coming over to take you away so Mommy won't get in trouble."

He helped Gaius to his feet.

They watched as the two little boys covered in blood managed to get the front door opened. Hadrian walked with him as far he could before he had to go back.

The little boy wept, clutching his brother to him.

Gaius was not stable on his feet but hugged his brother back then he took off as fast as he could.

* * *

They watched him drag himself across the suburbs of Cipritine in the scorching heat.

It was more disturbing to see some many turians who passed him ignoring his distress once they saw that he was a hybrid.

Those that stopped only gave him vague directions to the sections that contained communities of hybrid families.

After an arduous journey, Gaius finally reached a slightly disheveled area where the roads and pavements cracked under the sweltering sun with small homes lined along the road that were old but well taken care off.

He obviously knew this place they realised as he dragged himself painfully to a little yellow house with a large tree shading the front garden.

A human woman with her long brown hair tied back and who was starting to show her pregnancy was unloading groceries from a small car.

Sidonis sighed then muttered, "I knew it. I told her to leave that for me. That damnable stubborn woman!"

Kate Sidonis was just coming back for a second load from the car when she saw Gaius staggering in the street.

"Gaius? OH MY GOD, GAIUS!"

She ran as fast as possible to the little boy. "Oh Gaius! What happened?"

He keened then slumped in her arms having finally reached safety.

Just as she pulled him into her arms, a car screeched to a halt at the end of the street.

A tall turian emerged with the same clan markings on his face as Perdita had.

"Excuse me but that boy's mine. He's to come with me."

"Who are you?!" Kate snapped back.

"Listen, human! That's my nephew. He strayed from home and I'm here to bring him back," the turian snarled as he strode towards her.

Kate held Gaius in her arms and stood upright.

Her face hardened. "No, he isn't your nephew. You're not taking him anywhere so you can just walk back to your car and go back to wherever you came from."

"You don't want anything bad to happen to you or... your baby. I can make that happen very easily. Hand over the kid," he rumbled back threateningly.

Neither of them noticed the two male turians who appeared from a neighboring house.

"Everything alright, Kate?"

Visible relief came over Kate's face as soon as she recognised the voice.

"No. This man has just made a threat against me, my child and little Gaius here."

The older turian of the two who had spoken assessed the damage to Gaius. "He'll need medical treatment. We can keep on eye on young Lantar for you while you head to the clinic."

Kate nodded, carefully placed Gaius into the back of her car and headed back to the house.

The older turian turned back to the stranger. "Do you know who I am, boy?"

The other turian swallowed nervously, "I do, General."

"And I know you, Appius Marius. Now if I were you I would move on and I hope to never see you darken the doors of any of the good people in this area again."

The younger turian's confidence had fled under the general's gaze and he got back in his car and fled.

"What was that about, Uncle?"

The old turian hummed in response to his nephew before he headed to where Kate walked towards them with young Lantar gripping her hand tightly.

She passed him over to the general's nephew.

"Thanks for this, Gracus. Thank you so very much, General Atilius." She placed her hand on the older turian's arm.

He patted her hand. "Think nothing of it. Go and get that boy looked at. "

The light flashed just as Kate got into her car.

* * *

The memories ended.

What had seemed like almost forever had only been a few seconds.

Gaius held the asari by her throat and had her suspended off the ground.

She was choking until he threw her violently against the docking bay door.

His biotics flared and she was pushed so hard against the door that she left dents behind her.

He rubbed his neck. "That was interesting but if you are gonna try to use bad memories against someone then don't do it against a person who can do that same back."

She staggered to her feet only for Gaius to punch her brutally hard into the stomach.

She collapsed to the floor, coughing and sputtering.

"Alright... alright. I'll tell you." she wept.

Gaius spoke coolly, "Speak!"

"They're going to Anteaus then to Trebia." Vima sobbed out through gasping breaths, the marks left by Gaius's hands on her neck almost red raw.

"Why are they heading to Anteaus then to Trebia?"

She coughed up some sort of green liquid that began to sizzle on the floor. "They don't need Anteaus. They need the Anansi-Ishtar route close to Farinata and Cacus."

Tiberius paced then stopped as an idea struck him. "Of course! That's a major route for shipping but it's also used by unregistered ships to hide out. All they would need to do is to find a similar ship, steal the registration details and they should have a easy way into Hierarchy space by pretending to be a cargo ship."

Gaius turned to Vima, "Why are they going to Trebia?"

"That's where they plan to detonate the engine, in the heart of Trebia."

Gaius squinted his eyes. "Why Trebia? There has to be some reason behind it."

The asari tried to get back on her feet but failed and slumped forward. "They need to crush you. Right now you are a small issue, not old enough to defy them. But if they don't break through before your first generations reach maturity then they have a big problem. We're going to solve that for them."

Gaius snorted, "It would have been better for you to hit Sol. The humans have less colonies than the Hierarchy. The turians could survive the loss of Palaven."

Vima wiped away some the tears burning down her bruised face. "The fleets are in the Sol system. Imagine an unidentified ship hitting Sol now, it would be almost impossible. It has to the turians and it has to Trebia."

"Again, why Trebia?"

"Because it's the instigator! It is the one who fights the hardest to hold back the gods!"

Gaius tilted his head. "Trebia..."

"They tell us things, show us things that happened. Trebia's defiant. It devised the plans, forced its siblings into line, made its grandchildren stronger and unified to stop our gods! It made itself the enemy. You're all going to fall before them, before the Aegrus! You should bow to their might."

Gaius stood back a little. "Interesting. Anything else?"

"No... please... please I don't want to die."

"Sorry about this then." He drew his sidearm in one fluid motion and put a bullet through her head.

She knelt for a moment until her body caught up with what happened and she slumped to the floor.

Gaius turned to the stunned onlookers. "I think we've work to do."


	15. The Heart Hides Scars

"He told a homely tale  
And spotted it with tears—  
Upon his infant face was set  
The Cicatrice of years—"  
 _He told a homely tale,  
Emily Dickinson_

They stood in silence, all of six staring at Gaius with expressions almost unreadable to the hybrid who glanced over the crowd then at the gun in his hand before looking back at the faces peering at him intently.

He furrowed his brow-plates together. "I know I just killed someone but she was practically dead already. The Aegrus had destroyed who she was a long time ago. What I did was merciful compared to what would eventually happen to her."

Tiberius swallowed awkwardly, his throat suddenly dry. "Gaius, that's not the main concern right now. It's just we all saw what-" His voice clammed up as it refused to speak the words on the tip of his tongue.

"Saw what, Tib?" Gaius asked, now more confused than ever at his friend's sudden silence.

Sidonis stepped forward up to the mass field that still shimmered in their way, the only barrier between them and Gaius.

"We saw one of your bad memories. The one I think you were referring to when talking to the asari," Lantar said softly.

Gaius didn't register what he meant for a few moments before the truth slowly dawned on him - his mouth forming an "O" as it finally registered.

He let out a deep exhausted breath as he stared at his feet clad in heavy armored boots before he pinched his nose with one hand while the other rested on his hip.

"Okay. I get it."

He glanced up at the faces staring at him.

Tib was admirably back to his usual impassive self while Karas and Jakus seemed more troubled than usual but hid it relatively well behind well practiced impassive faces.

His father seemed fine but his mandibles were flicking wildly. That was a sure sign that Sidonis was going to be asking lots of questions later.

The last two he found the most difficult to face.

Shepard looked at him with such pity, her green eyes welling up with tears. That... that was hard for Gaius to see. He had to to look away, his gaze finding Garrus instead.

Vakarian was very different to his partner with the turian looking ready to murder somebody which was not quite what Gaius expected.

Then again, he didn't really know what to expect from him really.

* * *

Gaius coughed. "Tristan, can you do a purge here please? Guys, you all need to leave now."

None of them moved.

He pressed them again as he rapidly said, "I'll meet you in the next bay once I'm cleared. So... could you just go through those doors?"

Reluctantly the group dispersed, each leaving with an almost deliberate slow marching pace through the doors leading back to docking bay 1.

Well, all except Tiberius.

"I suppose there's nothing I can say to get rid of you then?"

"No, brother."

Once the rest were safely behind the now locked doors, Tristan shut down the barrier and activated the decontamination spray units high up in the ceiling.

It poured from the above like rain, coating everything with it's cargo of chemicals.

A thick mist rose around the dead asari as the Aegrus remnants dissolved.

The front of Gaius's armor steamed up until all traces of the green and red blood were destroyed leaving only faint scorch marks in their wake.

Tiberius and Gaius stood staring at each other in the artificial chemical rain.

Gaius cracked a grin, "We should stop meeting like this. People will talk."

"This couldn't be more romantic, alone under a disinfectant shower in a docking bay of a damaged ship with a dead asari not three meters from us," Tib added with a chuckle.

"You're such a sweet talker. Is that how you get all the girls?"

Tiberius's smile faded and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you okay?"

Gaius nodded. "Yeah. I've had thirty six years to get over it."

Tib had nothing to say to that. Instead, and with some trepidation, he stepped close to Gaius and pulled him into a hug.

Gaius wrapped his arms around him in return.

"You know you can talk to me if you need to," Tib mumbled.

Gaius smiled. "Thanks but I'm good. Never really think of it if I'm honest. Too busy living."

As they parted, Tiberius playfully smacked his forehead off Gaius's with a crack that sounded more like a sonic boom.

The two stepped back rapidly with both rubbing where their foreheads had painfully collided.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that. It really ruins the nice moments we sometimes have," Gaius muttered.

Tib just grinned even as his brain throbbed painfully.

Above them, the sprays turned off and the disinfectants began to slowly evaporate.

* * *

The others stood in a loose circle in the middle of docking bay 1 with the Normandy and her attending repair crews scurrying around her. It made for a very busy backdrop.

Gaius and Tiberius glanced at each other before they walked over, noting the concerned faces as they arrived.

They stood together in a small group in an incredibly awkward silence until Gaius - spotting that no one seemed to be willing to make the first move - jumped in. "Ok, so who has the first question?"

Karas stepped forward. "I don't, Gaius, but there is something I'd like to do."

"Sure... I think?" Gaius replied with some slight confusion.

Karas chuckled before she hugged him tightly.

Gaius let out a sigh of relief as he returned her embrace, listening carefully as she whispered in his ear, "I'm so glad you found a family and a good home on Omega with all of us. If I'd been there, sweetheart, nothing would have stopped me from ripping her throat out."

She pulled away from him slowly before she took a firm grip of his mandibles and dragged his forehead down to meet hers.

They stood locked like that for what felt like forever with their eyes closed and a small smile on Gaius's face as Karas gently held his mandibles in her hands.

She pulled back and smiled at him. "I'm proud of you. Kate was so very proud of you."

She gently patted him on the right mandible before she headed away.

* * *

Jakus stepped up to the plate next.

He smirked at Gaius and chuckled, "I still remember the little runt who used to run the walkways with my hooligans. You haven't changed that much."

He slapped him on the shoulder before he winked and headed after Karas.

Shepard just gave a faint smile and seemed unsure of what to say while Garrus was pacing.

Sidonis slipped up close to his son and quickly took Gaius by the elbow. "Come with me. We've got things to discuss."

Gaius nodded and was about to move in step with his father when Tib spoke up.

"Before you two disappear, I would like to propose something. I think it's time we recall our agents from the field, except obviously Mira and her crew on Palaven. We should inform her of the latest developments and see if she can get into a position to monitor shipping activity into the Trebia system."

"That's a good idea. Recall the others. How long do you estimate before they can pull back to our position?" Lantar replied.

"I'm not sure. Their small shuttles are only capable of short hops so it'll take a bit of time."

"Alright. Tell them to rendezvous with us in the Sol system as soon as possible."

"Okay... What?"

Sidonis turned to Tiberius. "Was I not clear on that last part?"

"Sol? You're taking us back to Sol? Why the hell would you do that?"

"If they're heading to Trebia then we need the turian fleet and the Primarch. Otherwise we'll face a very cold reception."

Tiberius stilled before he quickly masked the emotions that ran expressively for a moment across his face.

"Maybe not quite cold. More like weapons hot," Tib feebly joked.

He pulled himself together. "Right. I'll get on that."

Tib headed off with his omnitool activated as he adjusted his jobs list.

* * *

Sidonis shot an apologetic loot to Shepard. "Commander, I fear we shall need you to be our representative once again."

She smiled. "You know I'm glad to help. Ahem, will Tiberius be ok? I mean about his father Victus and all..."

Gaius looked to her wide-eyed. "What? How do you know-"

Sidonis merely waved his hand to stop Gaius from continuing - clearly a practiced move.

He turned his attention back to Shepard. "He'll be fine. I could never tell him this to his face because I would never hear the end of it but he's the only other person on my ship, bar Gaius here, that I know will get any job done and done right."

Shepard nodded before she placed her hand on Gaius's arm. "If you want to talk or anything then you know where I am."

He smiled at her. "Thanks. I'm fine. I think it's more shocking for everyone else."

Shepard gave a tight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes before she started back to the Normandy with her arms wrapped around her abdomen.

Sidonis made his way to the door leading into the main run of the ship and stood waiting for Gaius who was watching Shepard leave.

Just as he moved to go, Garrus grabbed him and pulled him back.

* * *

He gazed at Gaius, opened his mouth to speak but blinked as no words came out to his surprise.

Garrus took a deep breath before he tried again.

"I know that you're adopted." he blurted out before almost immediately wincing at how blunt it sounded.

That was not how he intended to start the conversation.

Gaius just looked at him with his mouth open and confusion written across his face. "Wow. You're just full of tact today."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. It's just that you and Sidonis are like day and night. I mean... What I meant to say is that I asked about you and he told me a little of how you came to join his family, including some of what happened to you with your parents when- "

He drifted off a little before he found the words to continue. "I just never thought- I'm so sorry, Gaius. No child should have to go through that."

Gaius scratched the back of his neck. "Well, things happen. I got over it and I've this fancy dented nose that was ridiculously helpful in getting dates when I was younger."

Garrus resumed his pacing before he suddenly stopped and stared at Gaius. "Your father should've protected you. There's no excuse!"

The hybrid raised an eyebrow plate. "I never would've pegged you to have issues with absentee fathers."

Garrus seemed to deflate a little. "I know what it's like to have a father who's rarely there but for me at least I've always known that my dad loves me in his own way, that he would put himself on the line for me. For all our arguments, I've never doubted that I've a place in his heart."

He stared over at the Normandy and Shepard who was chatting to Vega. "It doesn't sit well with me to think of any child being so unprotected as you were back then."

Gaius awkwardly shuffled on his feet. "I know that right now this whole thing with Shepard and the baby's causing a whole new set of emotions and hormones for you to deal with. Hell, I went through a similar thing with my own. I also know that it was possibly not the nicest memory that you could've seen today but let me clear something up. I wasn't that alone. I had my moms and they, well, they were brilliant. I've got my dad and my brothers. I even have Tib although so I'm not sure if that counts as a positive."

He awkwardly reached out and patted Garrus's shoulder. "So no need for any sad feelings on my account. It's turning out to be a very bad habit for you. Now I _really_ need to go before this gets anymore awkward."

He gave a slight smile then strolled over to his father.

Garrus watched them leave and, not for the first time in his life, cursed that he couldn't find the right words to say.

* * *

They sat contentedly in the old turian's study drinking Sidonis's aged turian brandy.

They spoke at length over what had happened so very long ago.

Gaius, after an hour had passed, finally managed to turn his father's mind to happier times.

They drank most of the bottle as they laughed at memories of the family Sidonis had built.

The younger Lantar who could practically fix almost any machine if given enough time, Maximus whose skill in hand to hand was the match of any on Omega or even Council space and of course they thought of Kate.

"We should've gotten her to that damn clinic on the Citadel faster," Gaius growled.

Sidonis wistfully glanced at the small band of metal he wore around his last finger on his left hand.

"There was nothing you could've done. Nothing any of us... she was too stubborn."

Gaius gazed at the band that the old turian rotated around his finger.

"I miss her," Sidonis murmured.

"I know. I do too."

Sidonis took a big gulp of his brandy, finishing off the glass then shakily got to his feet.

"I think I need to sleep," he added with a yawn.

Gaius, after quickly putting his own half finished tumbler down, stood up and helped his father make his way to the bed.

After settling him in, Gaius got up to leave only to stop suddenly when Sidonis grabbed his hand.

"Listen for a minute, my son."

Gaius knelt beside his bed. "Yeah, Dad?"

Lantar gently stroked the left side of Gaius's face. "You're a good man, Gaius."

The hybrid chuckled. "Thanks, Dad."

"Not finished yet. You're always so impatient. Where was I... ah... You're a good man and so is your father."

"I know you are."

Sidonis sighed. "You know who I mean."

The hybrid stayed silent.

"Gaius, we don't have much time left. At least try for me. Don't place all the sins of a different life on one who didn't commit them."

The old turian's eyelids began to flutter closed with tiredness.

"It's not like I'm blanking him, Dad. We're working fine." he muttered.

"Only because he or I have forced the proximity on you. Hmm... Do you remember when you started learning to play the cello?"

Gaius laughed. "I remember being an almost hopeless case. Same as the other two with the violin."

"But your mother never gave up hope. She kept you all going by being positive. Then look what happened. In the fullness of time, you could play the cello quite well and your brothers could play the violin."

Sidonis locked his hazy eyes on his son.

"There's a lesson in there somewhere."

Gaius touched his forehead off his father's.

"I'm being nice but like learning the cello, what you want takes time. Time we don't have to spare."

Sidonis tugged on Gaius's left mandible. "I know but I'm not asking a lot. I just don't want you to have gone your entire life without knowing the good man who I knew as your father. He's here in that ship."

"Actually on that subject, he said he knew I was adopted. Have you been telling stories again?"

Sidonis smiled. "More like you have." he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said I might have. Or maybe he just took a good hard look at us and saw none of my features in your face."

"And how do they know about Tiberius?"

"A question for Tiberius perhaps?" He gave Gaius a sleepy grin. "I think I would like to sleep now. Maybe this time the stars will grant me a dream of your mother instead of the standard fare nightmares they seem to love sending me."

* * *

Shepard sat at her desk in her cabin reviewing some helpful data that she received from Tiberius.

The engine was going to be working in less than two hours thanks to the sterling work of Jakus and his crew.

They no longer had the same range but they managed to compensate by decreasing the time needed to turn the engine around for the next jump.

The field agents that she had been told about, so very long ago now it seemed, were already on route to Sol.

The lead agent on Palaven had reported back to say that she had received the new mission parameters and that she would report back once they had made any progress.

Tiberius had also sent her along some pertinent details about the state of the remaining fleets around Earth.

With the geth now essentially scrap metal, the remaining fleets were using their ships as sources of material for their own urgent repairs.

The quarians however insisted on collecting the bodies of the geth for transport back to Rannock.

Shepard couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart that these two almost intractable enemies had finally begun the steps to coexistence and had that snuffed out by her choice at that fateful moment high above her burning home world.

Her reverie was interrupted by a sharp pang in her lower belly.

She pulled up her hoodie to reveal a tiny distention of her skin as her baby was obviously moving around. Chakwas had informed her that her womb now more resembled an Alliance shipyard with the nanite scaffolding almost ten times the size of the infant it surrounded.

Every time the baby moved, the scaffolding moved too.

"What are you doing in there?" she murmured.

She placed her hand over the moving lump, hoping to somehow calm it.

Eventually he decided to settle down again to her relief. She sat for a while stroking her relatively normal but definitely rounder stomach.

It wasn't too obvious but she could clearly see where she was stretching outwards.

She had just gotten back to work when Garrus wandered in to the cabin. He quickly nuzzled her head before he stripped off his armor and lay in his under-suit on the bed, staring out the cabin roof window at the ceiling of another ship's docking bay.

She shut off her terminal and padded down barefoot to where he lay.

"Whats the matter, big guy?"

"It was pretty horrendous what we saw, Shepard. When she started... touching... ugh. I feel ill."

Shepard lay back on the bed next to him and rested her head on the arm he stretched out to hold her in.

"I know. Gaius is a strong person. I think it would take a lot more than that to slow him down."

Garrus hummed. "I'm so angry right now. I mean if _anyone_ touched our-"

He fell silent for a moment.

Eventually Garrus tilted his head sideways to look at Shepard. "You know... Sidonis adopted Gaius."

"I know."

He raised his head to look at her. "How?"

She smiled at him. "I was on their ship for a long time with very little to do. I'd heard snippets of conversation about this captain fellow and sometimes references to his adopted son – no names of course. It was when Sidonis said it in that first meeting we had with him that I knew. Let's be honest, they don't look a thing like each other."

Garrus chuckled slightly. "Since when did you become the expert on telling turians apart?"

"I can tell one big bird lizard from another." She laughed as he yanked her on top of him and held her fast. "Big bird lizards huh? Well that is very charming. You really know how to make a guy feel loved."

She bent her head and kissed him. "I know."

* * *

The first of two jumps passed by without incident.

They would up floating in a remote part of the Krogan DMZ as the engineers got to work repairing what had blown during the trip.

The Normandy's repairs were also nearly completed to Shepard's delighted surprise.

Vega had brought to Shepard's attention that the engineering crew had wanted to do some minor upgrades to the Normandy, with her permission of course.

She in turn requested that all the upgrades pass a review by Tali which then almost immediately resulted in the engineers retracting their offer.

Vega brought the bad news to Shepard who just sighed and shook her head.

She needed to sort out whatever the hell the problem was that the hybrids had with the quarians.

Since they were now stuck here for at least six hours before the next jump could be attempted, it was the perfect time to find out before they had to deal with the Admiralty board.

* * *

She first went to Sidonis who steadfastly refused to give any information.

"Commander, we only need the turians. We're not looking for the help of the entire armada here."

Shepard crossed her arms. "I can hardly turn up with you in Sol and demand only to speak to the turians. It might make things a bit tense."

Sidonis smiled. "Not my issue, Commander. We only need access to Trebia and that is Hierarchy space."

Shepard leaned against the galaxy map that they were talking around. "It would be extremely helpful to find out what is it about the quarians that you guys all dislike so much. If you won't give me the information then maybe you could point me in the direction of someone who can."

Sidonis just smiled at her then started to walk away. Just as he passed her, he paused for a moment. "You know, Mikis is known for having a... loose tongue when he has had a few drinks. A very interesting fact I've found."

Shepard bit back a smile.

Sidonis pottered back up the bridge as Shepard headed for the med bay.


	16. Life Can Be Cruel

All but Death, can be Adjusted—  
Dynasties repaired—  
Systems—settled in their Sockets—  
Citadels—dissolved—

Wastes of Lives—resown with Colors  
By Succeeding Springs—  
Death—unto itself—Exception—  
Is exempt from Change—  
 _All but Death, can be Adjusted  
Emily Dickinson_

Convincing Mikis and a couple of others of the medical staff to join her in a small celebration of their great work on renewing her health did not take too much persuasion although the phrase she kept hearing as they agreed was "Well, only just for one."

Shepard even managed to convince Kaidan and Liara to join them along with Garrus; although that latter had made it absolutely clear that he was attending solely to make sure that she behaved herself.

Joker, Javik and Vega declined but it was turning out to be a bit of a gathering none the less.

* * *

Shepard had sat down for quite a long time with Joker, finally finding the time to explain about EDI.

He had taken the news better than even she had expected, although she had softened the situation somewhat.

"...so that is it. EDI is going to take a bit of time to herself in order to work through this. We just have to be patient."

Joker had sat in silence for a moment before he turned idly to a random small alarm on his console.

With a deft flick of his left hand he silenced it before he turned to Shepard. "Do you have any idea of when will she be coming back?"

"I'm not sure, Joker. Like I said she just needs some time to sort out all the confusion in her memories."

Joker pulled the cap off his head and began fiddling with it in his hands.

"Look, tell her... tell her I miss her. I don't want anything that she doesn't want to give so we can go back to being friends. I can deal with that. I just miss having her around."

"You know it always amuses me how far removed your opinions are now from when you first met her."

Joker smiled warmly, "At least I didn't **need** the inter-species sex talk from Mordin."

"No. You just had a weirder version and thanks. Let's keep on bringing that awkwardness up."

"I think bringing things **up** in regards to you is now Garrus's job."

Shepard started chuckling before she got up to leave. "We really need to have less conversations, Joker."

"Or more. I bet I can work the stick up Garrus's ass into the equation next time. .Actually forget I said that. I may have nightmares about that sentence for the rest of my life."

Shepard took the cap from his idly moving hands and placed it firmly back on his head.

"That's a lot better." she said with a smirk.

He tentatively reached for her hand. She softly clasped it back.

"Just let EDI know that she belongs here with us and that hasn't changed because of what has happened."

"I'll tell her, Joker."

* * *

She strolled away from the talk a little awkwardly as she made her way back to the elevator.

Her pregnancy was starting to affect her in ways she hadn't considered.

It slowed her healing significantly but at least she was nearly done with the bandages on her hands. Her back ached and she found she went to the bathroom every five minutes.

Chakwas had assured her that it was perfectly understandable and even relatively normal for pregnancy.

She was glad to finally be off her feet when she reached the lounge.

Garrus was sitting in there with the three medics and her own crew drinking some bottles of wine.

Once he spotted the slight hunch and limp in her walk, Garrus quickly settled her on one of the couches and went to fetch her a drink.

"Classy water" Garrus chuckled as he brought her the glass with his monstrous creation in it.

Filled with some asari fruits at the bottom and almost the entire top of the glass covered in small umbrellas he had found in one of the cabinets, Shepard could only just smile and nod as she started to remove a few pieces just so she could reach the glass rim with her mouth.

* * *

The medics in her absence had strayed from their one drink rule and, now half way through their second glass, they were pretty much drunk.

"Sorry! We don't handle alcohol well." Mikis sputtered.

Shepard smiled. "I've noticed. Is that a common thing among you guys?"

One of the two female medics, Locasa, spoke up in a babble of eager talk. "Oh totally Commander! Our weird version of a liver can't process it as well as turians or humans. Our enzymes for dealing with alcohol are all kinds of messed up. That's why it's banned from military vessels... hic..."

Liara, who was seated quite close to Locasa, spotted something on the young woman's neck and stared at it intensely.

"Forgive my ignorance, "Liara said softly, "But I've noticed that you have the most unusual sort of lines on the back of your head."

"Oh you mean the tendrils," Locasa gushed back.

She swung her head around to show the faintly pulsing blue lines that ran like a lightning strike down the back of her neck from just under her last plate on her head.

"They're actually not eezo lines although everyone thinks they are. Nanite 'runs'."

Kaidan put his drink on the table. "Nanite 'runs'? How does that work?"

"Oh, it's ingenious! These actually run the length of my spine. The nanites-"

"Locasa," hummed Mikis in warning.

The tipsy hybrid cautiously glanced at Mikis and looked slightly abashed. "I've talked too much."

Mikis snorted. "That's nothing new."

"I kinda still want to know what these 'runs' are," Kaidan said with raised eyebrows.

Locasa and the another female, Atheme, turned to each other than flickered their gaze at Mikis.

The male rolled his eyes then shrugged as his booze fogged brain took to pondering on something else.

Atheme bite back a smile before she said, "The nanite 'runs' are channels built by the nanites along our spinal columns. They connect to nanite super structures or factory style constructs that are strategically placed near the inter-vertebral spaces. The nanites use these structures almost in the same why the Geth used server nodes in their stations."

* * *

Kaidan coughed. "That's very interesting although I'd be lying if I said that I understood any of it bar you mentioned something about Geth."

He gave a slight smile to Atheme who flushed cyan under her facial plates.

She began to twist her hands in an endearing way.

"Ahem, okay. The nanites are a bit like Geth really; they network and by doing so increase their intelligence capabilities. They constantly adapt bits of DNA within our bodies in a sort of artificial evolution. If it works and passes consensus then they issue a body wide adaptation and will even broadcast the information to other nanite communities when hybrids are close to each other."

Kaidan gave a flirty smirk to the young medic. "How does that work?"

Atheme was getting quite flustered to the mostly amused faces of her colleagues.

"Well such as, let's say that my nanites discover a new and better way for my genes to produce a protein. They would put it to consensus and then carry it out once it passed. I then come in contact with, oh lets just say Trax or Lysander, and their nanites didn't have the same adaptation. Our nanites can communicate with each other over short distances so this new information would be sent across their short-range broadcasting. Whether or not they would get the new adaptation depends entirely on whether their nanites accept it by consensus."

Atheme took a quick sip of her drink while making sure to avoid eye contact with Kaidan who was clearly checking her out to Garrus's, Liara's and Shepard's amusement.

"Natural changes occur all the time too because of the complexity of our DNA. The nanites also decide if those particular changes are beneficial or not. I mean we are pretty securely tied to each other. They take care of us and we take care of them," reflected Atheme softly.

With her skin almost burning blue, she hesitantly glanced at Kaidan who was staring heatedly at her. She quickly looked away and tried to settle her anxious hands.

The human spectre smiled as he sat forward. He got as close to Atheme as he could before he murmured huskily, "So you are pretty much perfect then." before he reached for a half empty bottle of wine.

Mikis gave a low growl of warning to Kaidan.

The spectre's eyes flicked up and caught a quick glimpse of the male glaring with very coldly.

He slowly realized that Atheme may in fact be spoken for or would be shortly if Mikis's reaction was anything to go by.

He carefully topped up his glass and Atheme's while Locasa fidgeted uncomfortably as she sat squarely between the clearly flustered female and the upset Mikis.

Atheme took a sip of her drink to quench her suddenly dry throat.

"I...We are not perfect. It's not that simple. It never is that simple. The hybridization has its flaws. Our inability to correctly process alcohol is one thing. Another is that our natural immune systems are a bit unruly. It can get a bit out of control and has on more than one occasion caused more harm than good. The nanites are still working on the problem. The first generation nanites, or the F1 medical devices that were sold in stores, produce slightly different copies of themselves that then become permanent parts of the children. Those nanites do most of the functions of the first generation but with one added extra, immune system control. My nanites act like an immune response for me by killing off hostile pathogens, aiding repair of wounds and even neutralizing toxins. But if there was something which they couldn't handle they could open the dam and release the hybridized immune system. They have remarkable control of the processes involved in our immune response."

* * *

Garrus lounged back, his arm curled around Shepard with his hand pressed on her belly. "That is actually quite interesting. Those nanites could actually help the quarians walk free of their suits if they could be adapted properly..."

Mikis suddenly snarled, "The quarians?! Fuck the quarians. Enough of us have been their lab rats. Let them rot. We're not just a means to an end for anyone. Not the Alliance, not the Hierarchy, not the Council and sure as hell not the quarians!"

Garrus put his hands up, "Whoa! I didn't mean to offend."

Atheme reached past Locasa and touched Mikis's hand.

Something unreadable passed between them and he let out a long sigh. "I know. Forgive me. I really shouldn't drink."

He placed his glass back on the table then sprawled back and stared at the ceiling.

"So what happened with the quarians?" Shepard's voice cut through the atmosphere like a knife.

Mikis didn't move. "The quarians found it difficult to accept that they might have to wait a very long time for their own bodies to adjust enough to allow them to walk free of their suits on Rannoch."

"What has that got to do with you?"

"It has to do with what our nanites can do. It is like what your mate has said, if they could adjust our machines to suit themselves then they had a potential quick fix for their biggest problem."

"I'm confused. How is this a bone of contention between you? I mean you surely just gave them samples?"

"We did, or at least the Council and Hierarchy did with what they extracted from blood samples taken from kids but the nanites would initialize a self destruct program once they recognized that they were outside their host body. They tried faking the conditions only to discover an intricate fail-safe built into the very heart of the programming. They couldn't get around it. The nanites would shut down and become unresponsive to any stimulus. It was when contact was finally established to the nanites themselves that the main problem was discovered."

Mikis sat forward and stared at the floor. "The realization that these small machines were like Geth and had their own level of consciousness brought forth the crux of the issue. The nanites self-identify as part of the specific individual's body. I can't take nanites from my body and put them in Locasa's. They would not work. The FI ones could do that maybe. But ours? No."

Liara pondered for moment before she spoke softly, "So there was no real way for the quarians to get those specific nanites to work. Did they try reverse engineering or attempting reprogramming some while still in the home body?"

"They tried but the nanites, they don't just shut down. They burn out everything. I've pulled samples from blood and in the space of time it takes for me to just place the sample on a scanner they would have imploded. They're incredibly easy to trigger."

"Is there any specific reason that happens? If the nanites can communicate have you asked them why?" asked Liara.

Locasa answered.

"The nanites don't think like us. They view everything that is not their 'home' as a threat. They allow certain levels of communication for the purposes of medical intervention. I had to once instruct them on where to find a particular nerve that was catching in a young girl's arm. After that they've very little interest in anything other than their primary purpose."

"What is their primary purpose?" asked Shepard.

Locasa's eyes began to tear up.

"To keep us alive. We're weapons, Commander. I mean we are people too, with feelings and everything that comes from being alive. But none of that changes that we were 'built' for a purpose. We, like the nanites, do what we were born to do."

Atheme wrapped her arms around Locasa who buried her face in her top to conceal the tears that started to fall like rain down her cheeks.

* * *

Mikis rubbed Locasa's back softly. "The quarians did a lot of things, horrible things because they didn't see us as people but as a type of biological robot. We didn't know the full extent until-"

He stopped, his hand trembled a little.

"Until what, Mikis?" prodded Shepard carefully.

"Until poor Amata."

Garrus's eyes widened. "Amata? Gaius's wife?"

"How do you know about Amata?"

"I know a little. Enough to know she's not alive." Garrus said.

Mikis seemed to accept this readily enough - the alcohol dulling his usually inquisitive nature - and nodded.

"I got to know her really well at college on Sur'Kesh. So did Locasa and Atheme. We all wanted to be these universe changing doctors."

Mikis smiled to himself. "We worked damn hard and managed to get on to a scholarship program run by Jack Kynes. You should know his wife actually. You usually find her shouting with Jakus in engineering."

Garrus gave a small chuckle then a smile. "Karas!"

"I bet she didn't tell you much about Jack. Quiet guy, never really talked much but loved his family. The man was a genius! He designed the engines we use to get around. Jack's work helped us to expand Omega substantially, helped us get a working education system off the ground and even helped us convert some larger asteroids in the belt into working farms. He designed some of our fleet from the ground up. He was the reason our R&D section and, through that, our economy became as good as it is."

Mikis glanced at the figure of Locasa who was still wrapped in Atheme's arms.

"Jack had a lot of connections to salarian scientists and managed to broker a deal that would allow students from Omega to get a good solid education in the main salarian colleges. Karas would be able to tell you more about that. "

* * *

Garrus tilted his head. "You know I've always wondered why you invested in a military force when you had finally left the Hierarchy."

Mikis laughed.

"Did you think they wanted to let us go? No, they chased and hounded us to the Terminus systems which was as far as they were willing to go. Eventually the Hierarchy passed a resolution essentially deeming us as a sort of deviant subspecies. As long as we stayed out of their way and Council space then they would stay out of ours. We still needed some protection. T'Loak was always gathering some small force or another to try to recapture the station."

Mikis smirked. "She got her reward in the end."

Kaidan laughed. "What happened? I gotta hear how Aria, the Queen of Omega, was finally defeated!"

"Gaius ripped her head off with his bare hands," Mikis said with no traceof emotion as he took another sip of his wine.

Silence descended.

Kaidan eventually sputtered, "Wow. I wasn't expecting that."

"Neither did she," Mikis smirked before he continued. "She pushed too far with Gaius, thought she could get into his head and seduce him in some way with power and glory. Unfortunately for Aria, the problem with Gaius is that he only really ever had eyes for one woman and it was most definitely not her. She tried to do what she had done in earlier situations like that which was to take out the competition - remove Gaius's anchor I suppose."

Mikis turned to Atheme, "Imagine if she had managed to turn a powerhouse like Gaius Sidonis to her cause. She would have been pretty hard to stop."

Atheme quickly took over the story, "She tried to have Amata killed. She was with me in one of the forward base clinics on Omega when she was shot. A sniper managed to catch her with a shot to the neck. Spirits, there was so much blood but we managed to staunch it quickly enough for her nanites to seal the arterial wound."

The male medic interrupted her. "You see Gaius was being held prisoner. He'd deliberately gotten himself captured to get useful intel on where Aria had concealed her main forces so we could crush the rest of her merc group. Tiberius infiltrated to where Gaius was being kept and informed him of what happened. He lost it. I mean when Tiberius tells you that Gaius has gone into a rage then he means it. Full on beserker, tear the damn world apart type rage. He just waded through dozens of them without even pausing, without even using a weapon half the time. He reached Aria who didn't even get a chance to speak before he grabbed her head in his hands then just twisted it off. He threw it down on to the ground and bellowed out to her group for them to leave or face the same fate. The mercs who were not idiots left and never bothered us again. Gaius didn't wait around for them all to leave either. He bolted to the clinic and sat by Amata's bedside for six days until her nanites finally woke her up."

Mikis took another sip. "Devoted doesn't even cover how he was- is to her."

* * *

Shepard leaned forward and Garrus immediately started to massage her lower back. "How did they meet? I would love to know more about them."

Mikis hummed.

"Amata was living pretty much as a street rat when the Sidonis family arrived on Omega. She was about a year younger than Gaius so she must have been about seven then I think. Her human grandmother lived with her in this tiny run down apartment. They barely had enough to get by but Amata would go out and root through trash for junk to sell. Her grandmother was very proper from what Amata said."

Even as he spoke, Shepard spotted the look that passed between Locasa and Atheme - one that said that there was more to Amata's grandmother than what Mikis was saying.

"Very strong willed," Mikis continued. "Taught her manners and decorum, about how she should always be a lady. Even at seven she was frighteningly polite or at least that's what the captain says. Gaius once told me that he saw her first in the Kima district. The captain would bring him to this old building in that district once a year. His father would lay down flowers for some old friends and sit praying to the spirits for a couple of hours. Gaius still would go with him even as an adult."

Garrus stared at his drink as this tidbit of information sank in. Shepard placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed gently.

"Anyway this particular time he sat upstairs playing with the air rifle that was his birthday present. He was staring out using the scope over this bridge when he spotted her hiding. A couple of suspicious looking batarians were hanging around, obviously looking for her. He ran down to his dad, managed to convince him to see if the girl needed help. They went out and found her hurt. The batarians were slavers and had actually shot her ankle while trying to capture her."

Atheme jumped in, "The captain sorted them out and they took her back into the building where they had put up some medigel supplies. She told me that she was quite weak and sickly at the time but she remembered looking up into Gaius's face and thinking he was an angel sent to save her. Quite romantic for a first meeting."

Mikis chuckled.

"Well, he adored her almost from that moment. He would visit her most days and his family helped out with keeping her family in food and supplies. Once we got Omega fully started, we went to school and he stuck to her like glue. They didn't work up the courage to admit they liked each other until they were in their mid twenties. Gaius had a few relationships before then but he never stuck around in them."

Atheme gently squeezed Locasa's arm as her friend jumped in. "Amata tried the same but she never had it easy. Her grandmother's 'rearing' - if that's what we're calling it - had left her afraid of her sexuality because of this idea of always being a lady and 'proper' which didn't include sex. In any case, any boyfriend that turned up that was willing to stick around for the long haul before she was ready to actually take that step was frightened off by Gaius. He did not like any guy who wanted Amata. He was such a hypocrite."

* * *

Mikis looked at Locasa with amusement.

She stared back, "It is true, Mikis! He slept with more than his fair share while making damn sure that she couldn't. Not that she would but still. It's the whole hypocrisy of the thing."

Atheme stepped in.

"Eventually she found someone serious. She had kinda sworn off guys before we went to Talat on Sur'Kesh for college. I know that Gaius kept tabs on her too but she was convinced it was because he saw her as a sister. Against all the odds, she met this really nice turian, a Spectre candidate no less. Trajan was his name. He had a lot going for him and he really wanted Amata. It didn't matter to him that she was a hybrid. He had even managed to persuade his family to extend to her their clan markings if they married. She could actually have markings and not be barefaced. That's how sure he was of his feelings for her. They dated for nearly nine months. Nothing physical obviously. She kept it quiet, wanting to be sure of her feelings before she told anyone of the relationship. Her mistake came when she wrote Gaius one of her usual letters and had briefly mentioned Trajan's name. He turned up four days after she had sent it."

Mikis shook his head as Locasa muttered, "What an asshole. I mean I love the guy but fucking hell he was an asshole back then. He just barged into her apartment and walked in on her with Trajan. Nothing was going on but it might as well have been because Gaius lost the plot. He and Trajan got into a fist fight and Trajan was never going to win that. I remember Ami saying that she had to stand in front of Trajan to protect him."

Atheme added, "I remember how upset she was the day after. For a lot of different reasons."

"Maybe you shouldn't tell them everything. She was a private person," Locasa murmured.

Atheme whispered back, "And she is gone now. Whats the point in hiding it?"

The medic took a gulp of her wine, nearly finishing the glass in one swig. "It was her first time and she was not happy with herself afterwards. Not that it wasn't great or he hadn't taken care of her because he had. For him it was something he had wanted for so damn long. But she had betrayed Trajan. She had cheated on a really great guy. She cried. She went straight to Trajan, told him everything and sobbed her heart out when he said that he wanted to work past it. She couldn't forgive herself. She had broken all those rules that had been instilled in her. She broke up with him and went back to her apartment where Gaius refused to leave. He eventually was forced out and left to stay with Mikis over there. He refused to leave Sur'Kesh until she started talking to him again. It was a long process but he eventually got her to open up to him again, mentally at least."

Mikis snorted. "He knew what he wanted and had done since he was a boy. Trajan had just been a massive wake up call. Then the Aegrus happened. There was an immediate recall of all troops back to Omega for assignment, Amata included. She was assigned as a combat medic to the 44th. Gaius pulled almost every favor he had to get assigned to the same ship, the same unit, just anywhere near her."

The medic stood up unsteadily on his feet. "I need the bathroom. You two can keep going with the story."

He pottered on shaky legs out.

Locasa yawned and wiped away some stray tears that still collected at her eyes while Atheme continued.

"Gaius surprised me. He didn't get involved with anyone else, not even for brief flings or one nighters. Amata, well, she planned on being alone for the rest of her life as some sort of fucked up punishment. Her grandmother had a lot to answer for. Eventually they found their way back to each other. War does funny things. This time Gaius did things right. He approached her about a relationship, as slow as she needed but he made clear that he wasn't going anywhere or having anyone else. In time he made her secure in the relationship with him, even managed to get rid of some of those hangups she had. He eventually swung it so that she got posted further back from the front-lines in one of the hospital ships. Amata was completely useless at violence. I mean she could fight but she just was not able for it emotionally at all. It worried him when she was so close to the front where the Aegrus could easily breach through. There had been a couple of close calls for her and that had been enough."

* * *

Mikis wandered back in and dropped on to the couch. "So where are we?"

"Just got Amata back to the _Sweet Charity_."

He yawned. "That was a good ship. You can probably skip ahead to the war being over. I seem to recall this was actually supposed to be us trying to explain about the quarians."

Atheme nodded.

"After it was all was over, Gaius became incredibly motivated. He took Amata back to Omega where they purchased an apartment near his family home and he took up the offer of a promotion to captain in the military. I think it helped that Tiberius was taking the same one. Amata found a nearby small clinic and took up a new post as a family doctor. She loved it. She was never one for going on long voyages or being far from home. After their boy was born, Gaius spent as little time from home as possible. Not always the case but he did manage to get a significant amount of time in the home system. When little Gaius was five, she became pregnant again."

Garrus looked at Atheme. "I thought he had only one child. There was only one in the photo I saw."

Mikis flinched a little. "There is a reason for that. Gaius asked for a permanent transfer back to Omega. He got accepted for a position as one of the full-time biotic trainers. Tiberius of course threw a big bash to celebrate the ending of an era."

Mikis leaned back on the couch and took a moment to settle himself for the next part of the story.

"Amata had always wanted to visit Illium so he booked them a family trip before she got too close to the due date. His reasoning was that they fully intended on having a big family so if there was somewhere she wanted to go then best do it now while they only had one kid running around to take care of. She had a month and a half left in her pregnancy when they finally went. They stayed in this small resort right next to Nos Astra. He had rented this lovely little beach front house. The small guy loved it of course. Amata sent me long emails almost every day with photos of the family. On the fifth day they were there, Gaius was still in his usual routine of getting up earlier and going for a run. When he got back only an hour later the front door of the rented house was open. There was... blood. When he got inside-"

The girls became weepy and turned to each other to try to stifle their sobs.

"- Amata and little Gaius were dead. The boy had died first. He had a gunshot wound to his upper left temple, took off most of his skull, fringe and brain on that side. He died instantly. Amata had been cut open, her child removed. I know she didn't have the same luxury as her son, my friend suffered before the end. She lay slumped against a wall with her little boy cradled in her arms and a hole in her head. That's what Gaius walked back into," Mikis finished numbly.

He took a deep breath, steading himself before continuing.

"I got a call in the early hours from Tiberius. He asked me to join him in going to Illium, that something had happened and they needed a medical expert they could trust. When I reached the ship, the Sidonis clan was there along with Tiberius. Once I got on board they told me what had happened. We reached Illium after less then a day; Tib had pushed that ship pretty hard. When we got there, Gaius was sitting covered in blood on the steps to the house. He didn't move or talk until we got there. He had kept the local police force out and just waited for us to arrive. He was so cold, like something had died in him. He didn't cry or even talk much, he just motioned me inside along with the others."

He sat forward, clutching his hands.

"I wish I could forget what I saw that day. I wish I could bring them both back. I really do. Then he showed us the surveillance footage. Gaius is anything but a fool. He had brought some small cameras with him so he could keep an eye on his boy and his pregnant wife just in case they got into trouble. He never expected...none of us suspected... I can't tell you what I saw. But I can tell you who killed them. It was a team of quarians, a tactical group of six. About halfway through I had to leave and get sick. If I think about it I still get... ugh... excuse me."

He bowed his head and took deep breaths.

Garrus stood up and got some water.

He offered it to Mikis who took it gratefully. He took a long drink then placed the glass on the floor beside his feet.

"He left us there. He gave instructions and access to his bank accounts to his family so they could get his wife and son back to Omega. He told them to put their bodies into cold storage until he got back. He would return when he had found the people who did this and his little girl that they had stolen. Tiberius went with him. From what I have learned, Tib located the small craft the quarians had used and then traced the group back through a lengthy series of false paper trails and footage to a cargo ship rented by a member of the Admiralty board. They had hit the relays as soon as they had what they wanted, confident in the belief that they had covered their tracks. They went back to Rannoch. Gaius and Tib chased them all the way there. They went at least seven months without any contact with any of us."

* * *

He bowed his head once more.

"One day I turned on the news and discovered that the quarian home system was gone. Their star, which should never have gone nova, did. It engulfed Rannoch and burned away the atmosphere along with the quarian people. A few stragglers existed out in the galaxy but the majority lived on Rannoch. I remember reading not that long after that there was only around 359 quarians left in known existence. Hmm. I asked Tiberius once when he was drunk what had they seen. He said that he couldn't describe it to me. They had arrived back to Omega with two stolen ships full of hybrids, some fully grown, others only kids. All of them damaged in some way. The product of almost 32 years of experimentation from what they have said and what I have personally seen done to their bodies. The story of what happened to those poor people went like a tidal wave through Omega. Young Praxius on the bridge crew is a survivor of Rannoch. I could tell you some of the horror stories that he has told to me but I won't. Amata and Gaius's story is horror enough. Gaius came back and reunited his family for what it was worth. He brought back his now dead little girl to be buried with her mother and brother. That funeral was just the saddest thing I have ever been to. He was never the same. This Gaius you have met here is a very different man to the one he was."

Mikis rubbed his face. "And this is why I hate having alcohol because it makes me talk and remember. I don't want to remember those times." He looked at the Normandy crew. "Sometimes life just shits on you. For Gaius, he just couldn't catch a fucking break. Ugh. Sorry but I need to leave. This is just too much for me now."

He helped Locasa to her feet then pulled up Atheme. "Thank you, Commander, for the wine. We had way too much and ahem... sorry for... the depressing stories."

Shepard placed her hand on Mikis's shoulder. "No. Thank you for telling me. I don't think anyone was ever going to confide in me about what happened."

Locasa spoke softly, "With good reason, Commander. We know of your soft spot for them, your sympathy for all their troubles."

Shepard's mouth fell open in shock. "I do feel sorry for them but that doesn't mean I consider them faultless, their treatment of the Geth is prove of that."

"Then maybe it is us that has misjudged you, Commander," Atheme replied.

Garrus wrapped his arm around Shepard's waist and gently tugged her back against him.

He took a calming breath, "Thank you. As horrific as it is, I am glad that we at least can understand your animosity."

The medics nodded then took their leave.

* * *

Kaidan and Liara sat in silence, each thinking over what they had heard.

Garrus was trembling and tried his best to bring his body down to a less heightened state.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked.

"No. But I will be. Spirits how much shit can happen to a person? At some point the universe should give them peace."

Their talk was interrupted by Vega contacting them. "Lola? You better get out here. Tiberius is going loco."

* * *

"What have you been saying?!"

"Nothing, Tiberius!"

Tib shoved Mikis backwards in the Normandy's hull. "DON'T YOU LIE TO ME!"

Shepard and the others had walked out into a war zone.

Mikis began panicking as some of the repair workers ran over to try to separate the two while Locasa and Atheme were pleading with Tiberius to let Mikis go.

Tib instead moved to strike the tipsy medic who closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact which never came.

Gaius caught Tib from behind, took the feet from under him and forced him to ground.

Shepard had no idea where Gaius came from; he just suddenly appeared. Tib managed to force Gaius off him and dragged himself up.

The two stared at each other. Gaius tilted his head slightly but didn't unlock his gaze from Tiberius.

_Something was seriously wrong here,_ Shepard thought.

"Mikis, go back into the ship," Gaius said lowly.

"Gaius, I-"

"I SAID NOW, MIKIS!"

The medic hurriedly scrambled away, helped by Locasa and Atheme.

Tiberius snarled at Gaius. "You're just going to let him get away with that?"

"I've no idea what he has done but I guarantee it's not so serious as to deserve a beat down from you."

"He told them about the quarians, about Rannoch, about Amata."

"How do you know that?"

Tib snarled in response, "It's my business to know!"

Gaius hummed. "Well I've no shame in what I've done to Rannoch. Are you ashamed of it, brother?"

Tib snorted. "No but I don't want our business being talked about."

* * *

The two paced in a circle, each staring at the other.

The engineers forced Shepard and her crew behind them, sensing something that the others didn't except for Liara and Kaidan.

Kaidan whispered in Shepard's ear, "Their biotics are sparking. These two are going to fight."

She turned back to Tib and Gaius who were still pacing in a deliberate circle.

The way they stared at each other was so cold. These were not two friends engaged in an argument but two apex predators about to have a serious conflict.

_How the hell did this escalate?_ she wondered.

One of the engineers quickly rang the bridge. "A fight is happening in docking bay 1. We will need medics. Notify the captain."

"Why're you so concerned about them knowing what happened? You don't seem bothered by the fact they know who your father is." mused Gaius.

Tiberius snarled. "You're the only one here with 'daddy' issues."

That earned him a growl from deep in Gaius's throat. "I don't know about that, Tib. I seem to recall an _old friend_ wailing to me about how he wasn't good enough for his father. Get over it. Mikis didn't deserve a beating for taking a moment to relax and maybe saying a bit more than he should have. We have all been on long hours and little sleep, you especially. Stand down."

"No. I won't."

"Do you really want to take me on? You know you'll lose."

Garrus carefully drew Shepard back further from the fight.

Tiberius settled into wide stance, ready to battle. "I doubt it. You're out of practice. I can best you easily."

Gaius shook his head. "Fine. Have it your way. Don't go wailing when you have lost."

The hybrids glared at each other as the static in the room jumped incrementally higher as their biotics charged.

Tiberius lunged.


	17. Dearly Loved

"Take this kiss upon the brow!  
And, in parting from you now,  
Thus much let me avow-  
You are not wrong, who deem  
That my days have been a dream;  
Yet if hope has flown away  
In a night, or in a day,  
In a vision, or in none,  
Is it therefore the less gone?  
All that we see or seem  
Is but a dream within a dream."  
 _A Dream Within A Dream  
Edgar Allan Poe_

Tiberius lunged.

Driven forward by his biotics, he was just a blur. And yet for all the speed he was driving forward with, Gaius was a fraction faster and seemed to just side step the initial assault.

Tib roared with pent up frustration and turned around with an even more desperate turn of speed to hit his target - Gaius merely sidestepping again adding insult to injury.

The hybrid stopped his assault for the briefest of moments.

He crouched low, his teeth bared and snarling.

The audience in attendance watching in horrified realization as he removed his gloves revealing the five wicked looking and sharpened talons on each hand.

He was serious about this.

* * *

Garrus motioned to Liara to take Shepard inside who refused at first.

It took a stern look and a few muffled words in her ear from Garrus to persuade her to get on to the Normandy.

Garrus went to Kaidan. "Do you think you can separate them with a biotic field?"

Kaidan looked at him with faint humor in his eyes. "I can barely keep up with them and the engineers here have a biotic field up to try to shield us and the ship from the damage. All we can do is watch this play out."

* * *

Tiberius lunged again, running on baser instincts than actual sense. Gaius again dodged it easily.

The frustration of chasing a faster opponent got the better of Tib.

"Is this you then? The mighty Gaius Sidonis actually trying to avoid a fight? Pathetic."

His opponent snorted. "What you call avoiding, I call evasion. It's a standard move. Brother, stop this madness. I don't want to hurt you."

Tib let out a roar of rage and charged again. This time Gaius did not move or flinch.

As Tiberius got closer, he set his shoulder to take the brunt of the hit and placed his left leg back to steady himself.

He drove his shoulder into the oncoming hybrid, cracking some of Tib's chest plates from the noise it made and driving him backwards.

Tib, for his part, landed heavily on the ground.

Gaius relaxed for a moment and stood waiting for Tiberius's next move, refusing to start the next onslaught as he hoped for his friend to come back to his senses.

Tiberius lay for a few minutes on the ground wheezing terribly.

Slowly he dragged himself up and went straight back into a combat stance.

"Spirits alive! What's it going to take for you to stand the fuck down, Tiberius?!"shouted Gaius, his mandibles flicking wildly.

Tib wiped some specks of blood off his mouth. "Much more than you're willing to do."

Gaius sniffed. "I killed a world. There are very few things that I won't do."

* * *

Tiberius rushed again, his mind addled to the point of just purely animalistic moves.

Gaius once more didn't flinch.

They let fly punches as Tib pushed him back into the wall.

Gaius swung low and tried to take out his opponents legs but Tiberius flipped backwards, landed then charged again.

As Tib approached once more, Gaius rose up and swung his right leg around, catching him with a powerful kick to the side of the head which knocked him off-balance in his charge and slammed him painfully pnce more to the floor.

Gaius walked carefully to place himself in front of the Normandy. He wiped away a trickle of blood that ran out of his nose.

"You need to knock this off before I end up hospitalizing you, Tib."

Tib coughed up more blood before once more he got to his feet. "Like.. huu.. I said... you..need a... ugh... lot more than that to stop me."

* * *

This time he got to grappling range.

Tib desperately clawed at Gaius's neck as he struggled to get a hold before he froze and let out a sound like a dying animal as Gaius punched him hard into the abdomen.

He spat out more blood as he remained locked in Gaius's grip while other hybrid took the opportunity of this moment of weakness to pull Tiberius's face up to his.

Gaius gazed into his friend's eyes and noticed how blood-shot they were.

"Oh spirits, Tib. What have you taken?" Gaius murmured.

Tib snarled viciously and pushed himself away before he shot back quickly.

He rammed his shoulder into Gaius's stomach.

Gaius let out a groan of pain as Tib caught him hard on the jaw with a powerful right hand before he hit the floor.

In an effort to win, Tiberius went to stomp down with his right foot but missed as Gaius rolled out of range. The hybrid then flipped back on to his feet but found himself tackled almost immediately by Tib and flung hard against the wall.

He defended himself against a flurry of wild punches before he caught one hand and twisted it hard.

As Tib yelped in pain, Gaius used his impressive upper body strength to lift his opponent up and then slammed him down into the ground before using his biotics to send his friend clattering across the docking bay.

* * *

Gaius stretched out his upper body in the small break in action as Tib picked himself up off the floor - his plates audibly clicking back into place.

He pointed at Tiberius. "What have you taken? This is not you."

Tiberius charged once more but this time instead of lunging straight in suddenly flipped up and landed behind Gaius.

He tackled him to the ground.

Gaius managed to turn on to his back and used his legs to kick Tib off him.

Tiberius smacked back in to the biotic shield set up by the engineers and lashed out at Gaius with a shock-wave.

Gaius, who had just managed to get back on to his feet, planted himself into a low position and just managed to shake off the attack.

He charged in low and tackled Tib, slamming him into the biotic shield before head-butting him hard.

Blood gushed from Tiberius's nose as Gaius held him by his throat.

"What did you take?!"

Tib started laughing hysterically.

"Hahaha... red sand... hahahaha!"

"Red sand? Why the hell are you on that shit for?"

Gaius dropped Tib down on to the ground.

Tiberius was trying to lever himself up but was finding it hard in his shattered state. "I'm... I'm gonna kick your ass."

Gaius sighed.

"No. No you're not. In fact I'll be fucking surprised if you'll remember any of this."

His eyes suddenly changed to blinding light and he stretched out his right hand.

The engineers biotic field they had maintained together began to fail and Kaidan joined their ranks to keep it up.

Tiberius was caught and lifted up, his body twitching under the pressure.

"No! I... can beat you."

Gaius said nothing but gave a slight wave with his outstretched right hand.

Tiberius was suddenly flung across the docking bay and crushed against the far wall before finally he slipped to the ground unconscious.

* * *

Gaius walked over, once again shaking the light from his eyes.

Some of medical staff had finally arrived and began tending to the incapacitated Tiberius.

"Careful," warned Gaius. "He has taken red sand. Make sure you give him a purging dose before you treat him for the rest of his wounds."

The medical team lead nodded as the rest of his squad maneuvered Tib onto a stretcher before they began strapping the injured hybrid in.

Gaius sighed and then tried to activate his omnitool.

"No... no no no no no no no!" he roared.

Garrus, who'd been watching him intently, was surprised to see Gaius practically having a panic attack over the device around his wrist.

The engineers had lowered their shield, allowing access to the docking bay once more for the Normandy crew so Garrus headed straight to him.

"Are you alright?"

"NO! No, I'm not. Come on! Just fucking turn on!" Gaius was desperately hitting his omnitool which was refusing to activate.

Gaius finally stopped, his hands trembling. He let out a whine of such deep sorrow. "... no..."

* * *

Garrus took a step closer. "Problem with your omnitool?"

"The damn thing won't turn on," Gaius whimpered.

"I could try to fix it for you."

Gaius turned to face him, shocking Garrus with the fact he had tears welling up in his eyes.

"I... I... Could you? Are you capable of fixing these?"

The turian gulped a little nervously. "Yeah. I used to mess with them when I was a kid."

Gaius stared at him, a strange intensity in his eyes. "If you could fix it or even just reclaim the files on it for me then I would be in your debt."

Garrus just reached out and unclipped it from Gaius's wrist before he gave it a quick examination.

"I'll see what I can do. If I can't get it working then I can at least give you one of my spare ones with your files copied on to it."

He glanced up at the tall hybrid. "Any files that I should be worried about?"

Gaius shook his head. "The files have no meaning or worth to anyone but me. My omnitool had the last copies of photos, videos and letters from my family."

"Oh... ahem... I'll do the best I can with it. Give me a few hours and I should be able to give you an estimate of when you can get them back."

"That's fine. I need to go and murder Tiberius anyway. Just... thanks. Those files mean a lot to me."

Garrus nodded then watched Gaius, who was really loathed to leave the damaged omnitool with him, trail out after the med crew carrying Tiberius.

He looked down at the omnitool in his hand.

All he could think was how he really **really** could not afford to mess this up.

* * *

Gaius sat beside the unconscious Tib.

The medics had placed him on a purging drip to clear out the left over red sand from his system.

He was angry.

Tib always seemed to do this, always managed to fuck up in some way in his life.

Although he was more angry now at the fact his omnitool was broken.

Gaius had searched Tiberius's quarters and work spaces thoroughly and found some packs of the drug. All he could do was hope that was all that there was.

He yawned as he slowly closed his eyes and fell into dreams.

* * *

Gaius blearily dragged himself out of his bed before slowly and painfully making his way to the kitchen of his small apartment on Omega.

Last night had been a blur although he remembered the end of it quite well.

Military training was finally over and now they could get on with their careers. The future seemed so bright now that the seemingly endless classes were over.

At twenty-three, it really felt to Gaius like this freedom had been too long in coming.

It had been one hell of a graduating party though - even Amata had seemed to have fun!

Gaius's mandibles twitched a little as he recalled leaving the happy group to have one last booze fueled romp with Soladita before he finally ditched her permanently to the kerb.

Gaius filled up his mug with freshly brewed coffee then rubbed his neck as he remembered the look on Amata's face as he left with Soladita wrapped around him.

He let out a deep and resigned sigh. He was gonna have to apologize. Soladita had treated Amata like dirt when they were at school and in training. Last night had been no different. He had words with Soladita about it and somehow that lead to them going to her place to rut like pyjaks for a couple of hours.

The sex was good but it had really been worth it to see her face and the abuse she screamed as he left - he also knew he shouldn't get such a kick out of it as he did. Solidita didn't appreciate being used almost as much as he didn't appreciate her treating Amata like dirt beneath her talons.

A random thought struck him of the hell he'd pay if he'd actually gotten her pregnant!

Good thing he practiced safe sex he thought to himself. He couldn't imagine fathering a child with crazy Soladita. Then he really couldn't look Amata or Tib in the face again.

He idly spotted his omnitool discarded on the nearby counter-top and casually picked up the small device and slid it back on his wrist.

Gaius switched it on with his coffee slowly cooling beside him. Just as he activated it, a series of beeps went off as the messages which had been waiting all filed through.

He'd gotten three missed calls from Amata and one from Tiberius.

Neither had left any voice messages but then they knew he never listened to them anyway.

* * *

He was just about to call Amata when the doorbell rang.

With a quick stride, Gaius walked over and peered at the security footage of the area just outside his door.

It was his father who stood patiently waiting for him to answer.

"Hey Dad," he said while struggling not to yawn while opening the door.

Sidonis stood outside for a moment and said nothing. He glared at Gaius then stepped inside. "I'm glad to see you're alive anyway."

Gaius chuckled a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. Whats up?"

"Have you not heard?"

"Heard what?"

Sidonis sniffed the air. "Ugh. I suppose you've not from the smell of you. Is the girl in here or have you just done what you usually do?" he said with a grimace.

His son flushed cyan and awkwardly folded his arms across his chest. "Look, I know you and Mom don't quite approve-"

Sidonis interrupted him sharply, "Amata is over at Tiberius's."

Gaius raised an eyebrow while his father pressed on.

"You see apparently you promised walk her home. You know she doesn't have a lot of money and she has never accepted charity from anyone."

Gaius slapped his face quite hard. "Fuck, I forgot."

"Oh I know that. She tried to walk home on her own."

Gaius tensed as that tidbit of info slipped into between the haze of his hungover mind.

His eyes flicked to his omnitool with the three missed calls from Amata.

 _Oh spirits_ he thought.

He looked with desperation at his father. "Tell me she's okay?!"

Sidonis snorted at his son. "She is now, thanks to Tiberius. She was followed by one of the drunken revelers at your party who decided to make some unwelcome advances on her. She tried to ring you to no avail but eventually got hold of Tiberius. When he found her, well, let's say it wasn't pretty. She's fine however. Not too serious."

Gaius anger suddenly boiled over. "Who was it? Who tried to hurt her?! Tell me his name!"

"Calm yourself. She didn't need medical treatment and has refused to press charges against the man in question. Tiberius gave him quite a beating from what I've heard. I have had him placed in custody for the moment. His parents have been informed and hopefully, we can make sure that it never happens again. I am not going to tell you who he is and neither will Tiberius. You'll do something stupid and it'll be Amata that feels it. She's too soft-hearted and understanding for her own good."

Gaius turned to head back to his bedroom. "I gotta go and see her, make sure she's as okay as you seem to think."

He stopped as his father muttered back to him, "Perhaps you should have a shower first. I don't think she needs to know what you were doing last night."

Gaius flinched from the censure in his father's voice then headed to the shower.

* * *

His father had left by the time he had finished.

Gaius threw on some clean clothes and headed straight for Tiberius's place.

Tib and Gaius had an open door policy with each other for as long as either of them could remember. Sure there were some restrictions but mostly it was just stroll on in.

On this particular morning, Tiberius was cooking breakfast in the small kitchenette when he arrived.

Tib glanced behind his shoulder when the door opened.

"Well, look who finally decided to come back to the world," he said cheerily before turning back to the cooker.

"Where's Amata?"

"Asleep."

Gaius glanced around.

"She isn't on the couch. Did she crash in your bed?"

Tiberius turned fully around to look at him.

"We both crashed in my bed. She was quite upset last night and needed someone there."

Gaius stopped moving and fixed a cold stare at Tib. "You slept with Amata..."

"It's not like I banged her. She just needed to be cuddled although if she had needed more than that I was more then willing to help her out. And by the way, she smells exactly like pakla fruit. And you know how I love pakla fruit. She has just the right amount of softness too."

Tib hummed. "I wonder if she tastes like pakla... I think I might have to ask her out on a date to find out."

The hybrid grinned as he heard what he had hoped to get out of Gaius, deep rumbles of displeasure. If he pushed those buttons a bit more Gaius would snap.

Gaius stepped close to Tib and snarled, "No you're not. You're going to stay away from her."

His friend smirked. "I don't think so. See I got to be the hero that saved her last night. I think that got me lots of points."

Gaius grabbed him by the cowl and lift him off the floor as Tib grimaced.

"You're going to stay away from her. Understand? Otherwise you and I are going to have a problem."

"You can never take a joke about Amata, buddy." muttered Tiberius as he was dropped unceremoniously back on to his feet.

Gaius had started towards the bedroom door when Tib shouted, "So how was Soladita? Did you get what you wanted?"

* * *

Just at that moment, Amata emerged from the bedroom.

She was wearing one of Tib's tunics which was miles to big for her and she actively had to stop it slipping off her shoulders with constant touches. The only evidence she'd had been in any trouble at all were some scratches on her neck and face mixed with some light bruising.

But her eyes. Her eyes seemed so tired.

Gaius rushed forward to take her in his arms but stopped as she immediately took a step back. "Good morning Gaius." she murmured.

He stood there awkwardly, needing to hold her but she obviously didn't want that right now.

"How are you? Spirits, Amata, I didn't know until my Dad told me an hour ago. I'm so sorry. I should never have left!"

Amata just shook her head and smiled a little. "It's alright. How is Soladita?"

She didn't look at him.

Gaius swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "Fine... fine."

She nodded then went to move past him.

He reached out and caught her arm. Tiberius's scent clung to her and he growled instinctively.

Gaius gently pulled her into a hug, needing the closeness to her while Amata noticeably stiffened as he rubbed his face carefully along her neck and clenched her to him. She pulled away to his dismay.

"Sorry, it's just... it's just you smell of her. I can't be quite so near you right now," she whispered to him.

She headed down to where Tib had set up some plates on the kitchen table while all Gaius could do was stand and watch her leave him.

The shower obviously didn't completely work.

He never should have left last night. Amata didn't mean it in the way he took it but he felt as if his heart had just been ripped out and dumped on the floor in front of him because she didn't want him to touch her.

"Are you joining us for food, Gaius? I have made plenty!" remarked Tiberius cheerfully.

Gaius glanced down to the table where Amata had taken a seat and was smiling at Tib.

"Yeah. That would be great." he murmured, watching intently as Amata flushed a little when Tiberius gave her a cheeky grin and a wink.

* * *

He took the seat next to her and tried not to feel too hurt as she moved her chair fractionally away from his.

The conversation was easy enough. Amata and Tib seemed more in tune with each other than they ever had been.

Gaius tried to stifle his jealousy but often it burst out in harsher than normal comments to Tib who laughed it off with knowing glances at Gaius.

"So when are you leaving for Sur'Kesh?" Tib asked while clearing away some dishes.

Amata, with a cup of tea clutched in her hand replied uneasily, "In a couple of hours. The first ship is out at 1600."

Tib and Gaius stopped moving.

"That's a bit quick isn't it?" mused Tiberius as Gaius stared at her in shock.

She smiled. "I was working up to telling you both last night but things didn't go to plan."

Gaius's mouth opened and closed in rapid succession as he tried to find the words to say while Tib smiled slightly at her. "Are you sure about this? I mean, are you happy?"

Amata stared at her cup. "Yeah I think so. I mean there's nothing really for me here anymore since Nonna died. Maybe a couple of years away with new people will be good for me, help me appreciate Omega more when I get back. Mr and Mrs Kynes certainly think so."

Gaius reached for her hand and covered it with his own.

"There's so much here for you, Amata! This is your home and-"

She smiled at him but it couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes.

"I know that but even among all of you I am alone. I see you all going off, having fun and being with...others. Then there is me, always the spare wheel. Mrs Kynes... Mrs Kynes thinks that being away from home will help me come out of my shell and maybe..."

Amata fiddled with the cup on the table with her free hand.

"... maybe find someone that I can be with."

Gaius clenched her hand in his painfully.

"I hope that's not why you are going because-"

"No, Gaius. It's not. I would be insane if that was the reason. I'm going to learn at one of the greatest and most progressive colleges in the known galaxy. How could I give up an opportunity like that. You know a few others from the other classes are going as well, like Mikis Carter for one. It will be fun. I know it."

She stood up. "I gotta get my things together. Thanks Tiberius, for breakfast and everything."

He nodded at her while he leaned back against the sink.

Amata smiled at him then pottered over and hugged him. "Thanks especially for last night and listening to me and my ramblings."

Tib wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "My pleasure, madam," he rumbled.

She laughed then hurried back to his room.

Tib glanced at Gaius who was staring at him. He shrugged at him then went back to tidying.

* * *

Gaius headed up to the bedroom after her.

He peered for a moment in through the crack that had been left open. Amata was pulling on the light tunic she worn last night on and he saw the full creamy plated expanse of her back and waist. His breath caught as he closed his eyes and knocked.

"Just a minute!"

He heard some hurried movements and rustling before she called again. "You can come in."

Amata sat on the bed as she put her shoes back on. She looked up at him as he entered, her blue eyes almost burning through him.

"Do you really have to go so soon?" he stuttered.

"Yeah. The sooner we start then the sooner we can finish. Mr Kynes has arranged everything, apartments and things like that."

He sat beside her on the bed, careful to not intrude on her personal space.

"Who is going to take care of your place while you're gone?"

She fiddled with a particularly stubborn shoe and it's clasps as she replied, "I'm thinking of selling it. Your Mom and Dad have said they don't mind popping in to make sure it's still there and not vandalized if I don't."

His breathing increased in pace. "Why would you sell? I mean you're coming back right?"

There was silence.

He thought his heart was going to explode out of his chest as Amata took to staring at a spot on the floor in front of her.

"I don't know, Gaius."

"How can you not know?! Either you're coming back or not!"

"It's not that simple..."

He had to restrain himself from grabbing her.

"It is that simple! You're coming back. That's final."

"Gaius... don't be like this."

He gritted his teeth.

"You can barely take care of yourself. You'll be coming back. Do you think that anyone out there in Council space is going to care about what happens to you? A hybrid?"

Amata shook her head and stood up.

"I just want to see if maybe there is something else out there for me before I just assume I'm coming back. Is that so wrong?"

She turned to him with a tear finally leaking out and running down her cheek. H

Gaius stood up and wiped it with his thumb and sighed, "No, there is nothing wrong with that. I just... I worry about you."

She gave a half-smile.

"I know you are. I've always been your little sister."

He grimaced at that, remembering how he had told her that so many times. Remembering how it was more to try to convince himself.

"Amata, I... I'd like to-"

She tactfully ignored what she assumed was another affirmation of his brotherly love for her, interrupting it in fact by hugging him quickly then stood back.

"I gotta go. I don't have much time left."

"I'll go with you to the docking bay."

She placed her hand on his arm.

"No. I want to be alone for this. Forgive me but I just need to take this step by myself. I'll write as often as I can."

She gave another half-hearted smile then left the room.

With a heavy heart, he watched Amata leave him behind.

* * *

Two years past with relative ease it seemed.

Gaius had not lessened his watch over Amata, instead he now recieved weekly reports from a number of salarians he had hired to keep tabs on her while she herself sent at least one letter a week.

There seemed to be no issues.

She didn't socialize too much, she didn't bring strange men back to her apartment and generally she did really well on her own. Her time at the college was coming to an end too and pretty soon she would be back on Omega.

At least it was Gaius's intention that she was coming back, whether she actively wanted to or not.

Gaius's own life continued as normal.

He had several new "friends with benefits" along with a very healthy bank balance as he aggressively sought promotion through the ranks. He took over the job of checking on Amata's old home from his parents and every Friday night would find him sitting in her old room for a couple of hours.

He missed her but overall life was going pretty good for him.

This happy and blissfully ignorant existence all came crashing down as he sat one night in the bar with one of his partners.

His omnitool alerted him to the arrival of a new letter from Amata. He had waited for this one for a few days!

As the nice young woman he had taken out went to get them some more drinks, he opened and read the letter.

Then froze at a particular passage.

It had a name, a guy that had never been mentioned before or had even come up in the weekly reports. Trajan Erujt was relatively easy to get information on.

Before his companion had even returned he had discovered a hell of a lot about him.

A turian from a good military family on Digeris, he had been picked for Spectre training. He'd been posted to Sur'Kesh for the past eleven months while he underwent trials.

As he scanned through several salarian tabloid reports he found one from less than four months earlier. It contained a photo of a group of revelers at some festival. Trajan was present but Gaius was more interested in his companion.

The turian had his arm wrapped around Amata's waist.

Gaius's heart stopped.

He politely paid for the drinks and left some money as a tab at the bar for his companion as he explained that he couldn't stay.

Gaius bolted out and headed to his apartment. After hee grabbed some clothes and threw them into a bag, Gaius informed his father that he was going to be gone for a few weeks, he was on leave anyway but just to extend it with the days he had built up.

He booked passage to Illium then on-wards to Sur'Kesh.

* * *

When he arrived in Talat, it was raining.

The sky was murky grey which matched his mood since he first opened the letter from Amata.

Gaius hailed a cab and sat back trying to relax before he reached her apartment. He stepped out in front of an old building with vines creeping along the side. His agents had already given him the unlock codes for the building and her apartment so he headed right up to her floor and stood outside her place with his bag on the floor.

After a brief but vigorous debate internally over whether he should knock or just go in - Gaius finally knocked.

Trajan opened the door, his shirt undone at the collar exposing his cowl and neck. The turian looked at him with no recognition. "Hello?"

Gaius punched him.

Trajan fell back and landed heavily on floor as Gaius launched himself on him and pounded the turian's face with his fist.

Eventually in the haze of his anger he felt his hand get harder to move and saw Amata wrapped around it crying.

She was begging him to stop.

He got off Trajan who was pretty battered and bloodied at this stage, and stood back as Amata cried and helped Trajan up.

She turned on Gaius once the turian was on his feet, screaming at him to get out while Gaius stood staring at her. He had forgotten how beautiful she was in person in the two years that had passed.

After being ignored, Amata tried and succeeded in shoving him out the door while Gaius tried to speak but couldn't find the words.

* * *

He sat for a few hours at the far end of the corridor waiting for Trajan to leave.

Eventually he did as Amata helped him to the hospital.

Gaius then had to wait even longer for her to return.

Late that night she arrived back looking exhausted as Gaius met her at her door. She stared at him, said nothing and then motioned him inside.

He threw his bag on the living floor and stood staring at her as she closed her apartment door.

Amata immediately turned on him. "Who do you think you are?! To come into my home and do that to someone who has done nothing to you?!"

Gaius watched her dumbly, his voice having failed him long ago.

"I can't believe you did that! Why are you even here, Gaius? It's not like you cared enough to even reply to half my letters to you."

Gaius continued in silence. He just watched her pace, her anger overriding all those manners that her grandmother had beaten into her.

"I swear to fuck Gaius! I was happy! Really happy and you just have show up and ruin it. God, Trajan... "

Her mandibles started to wobble as tears threatened to spill.

"Why did you do this to me? I had someone who really cares about me, who wants me as I am. Now he's in the spirits damn hospital because of you! We weren't even doing anything."

Amata went straight back to screaming at him once she got hold of her shaky emotions, "What gives you the right to come here and hurt Trajan?! To hurt me like this?!"

She turned her back to him. She was taking in shaky gulps of air.

"Every time I think I 've gotten over you it just all goes wrong." she murmured to herself although Gaius caught every word - hope now bursting through his chest.

Gaius grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. She looked up at him with eyes of the clearest blue.

"Why are you tormenting me? I was so close to loving someone... Why couldn't you have just left me alone?" she whispered.

He cupped her cheek in his hand before he kissed her, dragging her mouth to meet his. Her eyes widened in shock before all the emotions she had bottled up took over.

* * *

He was kissing her.

Spirits, he was kissing Amata and he didn't want to stop. He tumbled with her against the wall, his mouth not once leaving hers while her tongue tentatively mingled with his and he moaned.

She tasted so good, almost like icht berries his mind fuzzily reminded him.

Gaius rumbled with pleasure as her fingers scraped down the exposed sections of his neck as he hoisted her upwards by hips and settled against her while Amata for her part wrapped her legs around his waist and rested them on top of his hips as he began feverishly grinding against her.

Amata gasped and moaned as those new sensations pulsed over her. They were both desperate for contact, fingers grasping and scraping against flesh. Amata moaned then instinctively bucked against him.

He barely held his control. They pulled apart slowly. Gaius stared at her, her waist firmly in the grip of one hand while the other caressed her behind.

Her face was flushed, her lips slightly parted and her eyes were fogged over with need.

He nibbled at her neck as he carried her, still wrapped around his waist and hips, to the bedroom. He laid her down and slowly removed her clothes while caressing every inch he exposed. He shed his own more rapidly.

She was as beautiful as he had imagined her to be. She bucked beneath his clever tongue and skilled hands, her body desperate to reach something that she had only read about in her classes and books. He licked his way lower until he reached the apex between her legs before he slowly pried her legs open using soft touches and moans to convince her to let him access it.

He heard her breath hitch as he pressed his nose and mouth forward. Her soft folds were a beautiful shade of blue and he inhaled the scent of her arousal before he gently extended his tongue to taste her. A growl of pleasure escaped him as he delved deeper. She tasted so sweet on his tongue. He found the little hardened nub and gripped it gently between his mouth plates.

Her hands timidly found a grip on his fringe and she held on hard as he began in earnest. He first licked the nub with long languid strokes before he began flicking his tongue rapidly across it as Amata was writhing and moaning in pleasure. He used his hands to force her hips firmly to the bed as he continued his ministrations. Finally she stiffened, arched her back then shivered as his name was ripped from her lips. "Oh Spirits! GAIUS!"

He hungrily cleaned the fluids from her orgasm with his tongue before he settled above her, pressing himself just at her entrance as he needed this more than anything in his life. She arched against him, giving her consent while she was still lost in the sweet aftermath of her first orgasm.

He kissed her as he moved forward a little, groaning as he felt her stretch around him.

He watched her face as her eyes closed up for a moment at the pain of this new intrusion. He realized it then, as the pain flickered in her face, that she had never been with someone like this before. At least some things he had assumed were indeed correct. He rocked back and forth gently, slowly going deeper until he finally was fully inside her. She was tight, soft, wet and everything he ever wanted.

His arms trembled as he held himself unmoving above her, staring down at the pleasure that now crossed her face. He needed this, to see her enjoying this part.

He smiled as she finally tried experimentally bucking her own hips to his, trying to set a rhythm that was new to her body. He thrust in hard once to match her hesitant movements. She moaned and gripped his waist with her legs.

He took his time. He had waited so long for this and he could wait longer. He built up her orgasm with long slow thrusts coupled with his roaming hands and tongue until she was practically screaming.

She clawed at his back, skimmed her teeth over his neck and dug her talons into his rear. He finally lost control and pounded into her hard. She arched against him once more as she tightened in pulses around him like a vice. He spilled himself inside her, clawing at the bed's mattress as he roared out her name. He finally collapsed on top of her.

They lay for a long time entangled together. Gaius was loathed to even remove himself from her and instead rolled on to his side so he could curl around Amata while remaining locked deeply inside. He held her tightly to him, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against his own. He nuzzled her neck softly and murmured what he had wanted to say for what seemed his whole life, "I love you."

In her sleepy haze, Amata answered back softly, "I love you too." His heart filled almost to bursting and he held her close as sleep claimed him.

* * *

He woke the next morning to find the space empty next to him.

The air was still heavy with the scent of their love-making.

Gaius grinned to himself. It wasn't just sex that happened. He'd made love to her. H

e pulled the sheets off himself and headed to the open space living area where he found Amata fully dressed and curled up on the sofa crying.

All the joy suddenly drained from him.

"Amata?"

She looked up at him before she quickly sat upright and tried to wipe away her tears. "I'm sorry... spirits I'm sorry." she murmured.

He sat down beside her and slowly edged her body closer until she was once more flush against him.

"What are you sorry for?" he whispered.

"I'm such a horrible person!" she wept.

He stared at her confused.

"I cheated on Trajan. We never even- we never made it as far as... Oh spirits! I'm such a terrible person."

She started crying again.

He tilted her head into his chest and held her. "No. You're not. You're the best person I know."

Gaius kissed her head and started to caress her neck before she caught his hands. She held them in her own and pressed them to her forehead.

"I can't do this. I've got to go and see him, to confess."

He nodded in agreement. "It'll be fine. Once you get back we can sort out how we're going to work this."

She looked at him confused. He cupped her cheek then put their foreheads together.

"Amata, I meant what I said. I love you. I need you. I think we can do this, you and me. I never wanted anyone like I want you."

She wiped some tears from her face.

"I...c an't. I can't do that to you. As long as I have known you, you have never been a one woman type of man. We really can't be together like this ever again. It only breaks my heart."

Gaius started to panic.

"No. We can do this! I don't need anyone else, Amata. Just you and me. It's more than enough. Please, listen!"

She gently pulled back and stroked his cheek. "I remember what happened with Soladita."

Gaius stopped moving. He gazed in to her eyes. There was deep hurt in those blue depths.

"I was so hurt, Gaius. She made my life a misery but you just... you were you. That night when you two just took off, I knew then that I could never be with you. It hurt so bad inside that I just ran. I should have asked Tib to take me home but I just left on my own. When I got into trouble and I had to call you, eventually getting Tib to help me, I just felt so ashamed of my weakness. Tib and I talked all that night. He helped me understand a lot of things. About how us being together is a nice dream but a dream nonetheless. It will never work out."

Gaius choked back an angry retort. He was going to kill Tib.

She stood up, shaking off his grip as he tried to pull her back on to the couch.

"I gotta go see Trajan. I can't let you stay here. I can't trust myself around you." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry, Gaius. I'm sure one of the others would put you up for as long as you need before you return to Omega."

Gaius stood and grabbed her again. "Don't be sorry. Don't do this at all! There hasn't been a day that I haven't regretted what happened that night. And Tib... Tib should have kept his nose out of our business. He doesn't know me as well as he claims he does."

Amata slowly freed herself from his grip.

"Oh? And have you actually had a relationship since I left Omega then, Gaius? Or has it been all one night stands and the 'benefits' things you usually set up."

Gaius gave a choked sound then said nothing. He stared at the floor.

Amata gave a sad half-smile. "I thought so..."

She walked away and picked up her bag. She threw on her coat and headed out.

Gaius sank back into the couch. He held his head in his hands as he tried and failed to not cry.

* * *

He waited and waited for Amata to return.

It was easily the worst hours of his life, this interminable waiting for her to come back.

Eventually, for his sanity's benefit at least, he heard the door unlock.

Amata had returned and she looked devastated. Her pain was etched in every movement as she removed her coat and placed her bag on the table. Once done, Amata finally lifted her eyes to his.

She was hurting badly and he was to blame. He approached her like he would a skittish animal, slowly and in full view. He made his intention clear with his arms out wide. She let him hold her as she shivered in his arms.

"Spirits, Amata..." He rubbed her back carefully as she sobbed in his chest. He buried his head in her neck and took deep breaths of her scent before finally lowering his mouth down and nipping the junction of her shoulder to her neck gently.

She gently pushed him back. "No."

Gaius almost keened in frustration. "Amata, why can't you let us be together? Why can't you let us be happy?"

She untangled himself from his arms. "We wouldn't work. You'll get bored and then it will all go wrong. I can't recover like you. I can't just bounce back from these things."

She sat on the couch. "Nonna was right. I don't deserve anyone, especially after what I've just done to Trajan. He wanted to stay with me. He wanted to work through this. He wanted to marry me... wants to marry me."

Gaius clenched his hands to the point where he pierced the skin of his palms with his talons. "Your grandmother was a bitter old woman!"

He knelt before her.

"Did you accept Trajan?" he asked cautiously, his heart preparing to shatter.

She shook her head. "No. I wasn't sure. I am never sure."

He let out a breath he had held in.

She anxiously wrapped her arms around herself again. "Gaius, I need you to leave."

"No."

"Please Gaius. Just go and forget about all of this. Leave me alone."

"That's not going to happen."

* * *

Amata got up slowly before she headed for her omnitool. "Don't make me call Mikis or even Tiberius."

He went to her, trapping her against the wall as he grabbed her hands and pinned them back.

"No you won't. We're going to get through this, you and me. Just like it was always supposed to be, the two of us together."

Amata hit a button using her hand encased in her omnitool. A crackle started and Mikis's voice could be heard. "Amata? Whats up?"

"Mikis, I need to come over to my apartment please."

Gaius snarled. "Don't come over, Mikis."

The tiny voice stuttered. "Holy shit! Gaius Sidonis? What the hell are you doing on Sur'Kesh?"

"Nothing you need be concerned about."

Amata spoke up, finding her voice. "Please come over, Mikis. I need your help."

Gaius snarled. Mikis hesitated then cautiously answered, "Alright. Give me five minutes. I'm on my way."

The call finished.

He let go of Amata's hands and stood back with his eyes closed. He felt her hand touch his right cheek.

Gaius opened his eyes to see that Amata was looking at him with such sorrow.

"I'm sorry, love." Her eyes flashed pure light.

* * *

He woke with a start. It took Gaius a few minutes to realize where he was.

Gaius was still sitting in the chair at Tiberius's bedside.

As he ruefully rubbed his cheek where the dream Amata had held her hand, he mused how reliving his memories was nothing new.

Sometimes he just wished he could just relive only the good ones.

Gaius glanced at his still unconscious friend and thought that he was lucky he was still asleep otherwise he would be getting an earful over a lot of things.

After a few minutes of thinking things over, Gaius stood up and stretched - popping some plates back into place in the process. He yawned then made to leave the med bay.

He really needed to know how Vakarian was getting on with his damaged omnitool, another thing that Gaius was going to berate Tib over.

The comm crackled into life just as he stepped out the door.

He listened to Tristan's voice drift over the static, "All hands, prepare for mass jump."


End file.
